


A Man's Best Friend

by Zaxaryah



Category: VIXX
Genre: Dogboy, Gen, Hybrid AU, catboy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-19
Updated: 2018-04-16
Packaged: 2019-04-04 14:24:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 30,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14022213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zaxaryah/pseuds/Zaxaryah
Summary: TaekWoon sucks at human relationships. HakYeon is a puppy.





	1. Chapter 1

“You’re too cold.”

“I knew you were cold, but I thought you would at least warm up to me.”

“I thought I could bear it, but it’s too much.”

“You’re not a bad person. You’re just not the right person for me.”

TaekWoon heaved a sigh. It wouldn’t stop playing over and over in his head. Like an annoying song playing through the PA system in a store, and there’s no way to stop it.

“Tch.”

He soccer-kicked an empty can into the concrete wall of a nearby building. Drinking his sorrows away was not TaekWoon’s style, but he certainly felt like it. Suddenly being dumped after a solid year and two months of dating can change a man. Maybe he needs to change. But not today. It’s still a weekday.

Still sulking, TaekWoon swerved down an alleyway. It deviated from his usual route home, but there was no incentive for arriving home anytime soon. If he could just walk off the agitated cloud in his head…

He stopped short. A slight movement in his peripheral caught his attention. He stood in the center of a T where a space opened to another alley that ran perpendicular to the one he walked along. Down that alley, it was dark, more so with the setting sun.

Down that alley, he saw a body.

The sight chilled TaekWoon to the bones; for a split second, he thought maybe it was a corpse. But as he edged slightly closer, he could tell the person was still moving, taking shallow breaths and trembling. He thought it was a kid, curled in on himself with arms that had no strength left to hold himself together. The sight of pointed ears pressing flat against the top of his skull proved otherwise.

_A hybrid…!_

It wasn’t completely rare to see one these days, but it wasn’t common, either. Dogboys, catgirls, any genre of a half-human, half-animal being who walked through civilization. At first, they were hardly regarded as anything more outstanding than any other human or pet, but as they started slowly dying out due to their reproduction rate falling more and more harshly, their existence became novel. They became trophies rather than companions, one never without someone nearby to claim it.

So what was this one doing here? Its appearance was definitely not of one that was properly owned and taken care of. Its clothes were old and filthy, and the hybrid itself would need a thorough washing, as well. TaekWoon continued to take carefully measured steps towards the creature. It obviously heard him, opening its eyes and warily locking onto his gaze, but it made no move in reaction. TaekWoon could see why it didn’t make a move to run or otherwise.

A deep gash in its left leg was festering, probably at the very least a day old. It was much too deep for it to heal on its own, and TaekWoon was almost positive the wound had become infected with no thanks to the dank alley where the hybrid lay.

All it took was one more step from TaekWoon before it suddenly tensed and snarled. TaekWoon froze in his tracks, quickly throwing up his hands. His reaction was pointless, though, as the low growl dwindled to a whine, the hybrid wincing from the ugly wound in its leg.

 _What am I doing, anyway?_ TaekWoon wondered this as he edged close enough to shrug off his coat and throw it over the hybrid before scooping it up into his arms. It squirmed about in surprise, growling again.

“Oh, shut up,” TaekWoon responded with a growl of his own.

Surprisingly, it stopped wriggling around, but it glared up into TaekWoon’s eyes in disdain. TaekWoon had managed to tightly bind his coat around the creature’s arms in case it tried to scratch him or something. It was only a guess that it probably wouldn’t try anything with its legs. TaekWoon hefted it up to hold it properly and set off.

Thankfully, he frequently passes a vet clinic on his way to and from work every day. He never thought much of it, but with a hybrid that grumbled every so often in his arms, it was the first place that came to his mind. TaekWoon hastened his steps, very conscious of the odd looks he was getting for walking around and carrying a hybrid bridal-style. He planned to leave it in the care of the clinic, but it didn’t occur to him that maybe they only dealt with actual pets and not hybrids…

Either way, he muscled his way through the door with no hands, narrowly avoiding second-hand kicking a kid in the face who was coddling his own puppy. The few people who were inside stared with wide eyes. The receptionist behind the counter was frozen, her eyebrows jumping up.

Now that his brain had finally caught up with his body, TaekWoon realized he didn’t even know what he was doing. He stared back at the receptionist. “This…”

A head poked out of a door off to the side, one which belonged to a somewhat middle-aged man who regarded the scene before him, staring longer at TaekWoon and the gangly hybrid in his arms. His own eyebrows lifted in interest, and he stepped out and ambled his way into the front room.

“I see, I see,” he muttered. The hybrid’s ears pressed flatter against its skull, and a low growl rose from its throat again. This, however, seemed to elate the man. “Nice! Very good. SoYeon-ah!”

A girl appeared through the door where the man had appeared, and she had zero hesitation at approaching the scene as well. “Yes, Mr. Lee?”

“Take this one to room four. We’ll need the supplies from there.”

“Yes, sir!”

Disregarding the fact that TaekWoon was much taller than she was – even the hybrid seemed like it would be taller than her – she easily pulled the creature from TaekWoon’s arms into her own and trotted back through the door she came from. The hybrid was just as confused, its bewildered eyes catching TaekWoon’s one last time before it disappeared behind the door frame.

TaekWoon sighed. “So you’ll take care of it, then? I’m done here?”

The man looked at him questioningly. “What do you mean?”

“I just found it on the street. It’s not mine.” TaekWoon scanned the man before him, spotting a shiny nameplate fixed to the front of his shirt. Min Woo Lee, it read. “I’m guessing you’re a vet?”

“I’m _the_ vet, yes. This is my clinic. From the sound of it, you only cared enough to bring him in so he could be treated. That’s the extent of your compassion, probably.”

TaekWoon narrowed his eyes. “I believe it’s your job to take care of the animals that come in here, not judge the people who bring them in.”

Unaffected, MinWoo held his gaze, disregarding the fact that TaekWoon maybe stood another head taller than him. “True, but consider this. Who would take care of the cost it would take for cleaning up his injuries? The operations, supplies, and medications?”

“So you’re hounding me for money, now?”

“Not necessarily. While this clinic is a place of business, I’m also a human being who holds more empathy for animals and hybrids than other humans. If I had found him on the street in such a manner, I would have taken him in and treated him of my own volition, no charge to him at all. However, this is a clinic; not a shelter. He’s homeless as soon as he can walk out which means he’ll probably subject to whatever brought him here in the first place.”

Huffing, TaekWoon crossed his arms. “Natural selection.”

MinWoo whistled. “That’s rough. You want that sort of thing on your conscience, then?”

TaekWoon was a millisecond away from replying in his usual, apathetic style, but at that moment, the insufferable playlist ran through his head. It seemed as though the vet was satisfied with TaekWoon’s hesitation.

“I believe you’re not the kind of person you want to seem like,” he continued. “So how about this… It will still take a few days for that one to recover. In the meantime,” he tucked a business card into TaekWoon’s breast pocket, “you let your feelings ferment. If you’re the person I believe you are, you can call the office. There’ll always be someone there to pick up the phone.”

Dumbfounded, TaekWoon merely stared back at the vet. MinWoo just winked and swaggered off to the door where the hybrid had disappeared through. However, he stopped just short of shutting the door behind him.

“Sorry about your jacket, though,” MinWoo called back. “We’ll clean it for you, as a service. You also might want to wash your hands before you leave. The restroom is that way.”

It took no longer than two seconds of seeing the blood on his hands for TaekWoon to shut himself in the restroom to wash it off.

* * *

< Oh! TaekWoon-hyung, haven’t heard from you in a while! What’s up? >

He glared back at his phone screen. How dare this kid reply so easily to his totally out-of-the-blue text? Shouldn’t he be doing something else on this responsibility-free weekend besides promptly responding to text messages? TaekWoon already regretted deciding to contact that brat.

But he responded, anyway. < I need to talk to you. Are you free? >

< Uwah scary ㅇㄴㅇ Ya I’m just at home. You wanna meet somewhere? >

“A hybrid?! You met one?!”

“Shut your mouth, SangHyuk, geez. I only found it. It’s not mine.”

The child dutifully finished whatever was in the middle of being chewed. The two met at a small ramyun shop close to where SangHyuk lived, and of course TaekWoon felt obligated to buy the kid food even if SangHyuk claimed he had money – he didn’t have a job, so TaekWoon didn’t believe him. TaekWoon had already dished out the gist of what happened which left SangHyuk to ponder over his bowl of food.

“Wait, so…” SangHyuk paused, ramyun-laden chopsticks halfway to his mouth. “Wait. Why did you call me out here? What are you planning to do?”

“I don’t… know…” Why was TaekWoon so mindless recently?

“Are you planning to take him in?”

“What? No. No way.”

“Why not? You wouldn’t be here talking to me about it if you were planning to just shrug it off.”

“What, I can’t just talk about something that happened to me?”

“You never talk about anything to anyone. Ever.” A swift punch to SangHyuk’s kidney had the kid recoiling, half-laughing but half-wincing.

TaekWoon sulked, leaning on the counter in front of them. “Well, so what if I briefly entertained the thought? I was just curious since I don’t know half of anything regarding these things.”

Suddenly, the bowl in front of SangHyuk was empty. “It’s easy, hyung! It’s just like having a roommate.”

“A roommate.”

“Yup.”

“A roommate that has ears and a tail and a temperament like a dog.”

“Pretty much.”

“Why did I even ask you?”

“Because you thought since I live with a hybrid, surely I must have an infinite amount of wisdom regarding how to deal with a person that has a tail. The only big difference between a hybrid and a human is getting them to get used to you.”

TaekWoon sighed. “I already have a hard enough time with humans.”

“Most important thing you gotta keep in mind: they’re sentient beings. Treat them properly.”

TaekWoon was not expecting to walk into the vet clinic later on that day to find MinWoo in the middle of the front room, spinning in circles in a rolling chair. He froze at the absurd sight. It took a few spins before the vet noticed him and slowed his spinning.

“Wow!” MinWoo exclaimed, tipping a bit because he’s a mature adult who was just spinning in a chair for who even knows how long before TaekWoon walked in. “You’re back earlier than I thought!”

“I’m… here for my jacket.”

“Right. Sure. I just got it back from the cleaners.” MinWoo slowly stood up, holding on to the armrest because he was still leaning. “Follow me.”

TaekWoon stayed a few steps behind as MinWoo stumbled his way toward the back, through the same door to the side. On the other side was a long hallway lined with closed doors, most with brass numbers nailed to the center and a plastic document caddy posted next to them. It may as well have been a doctor’s office.

MinWoo’s office was at the end of the hall. It was comfy, a bit of a mess, with random doo-dads littering each space that wasn’t a mess of stacked papers. There were random jackets and shirts thrown here and there, adding to the mess. MinWoo had finally regained his bearings and maneuvered his way behind a desk, grabbing TaekWoon’s blood-stain-free jacket from a coat stand. He turned back around and offered it.

“Thanks.” TaekWoon was still taking in the rather small space. “Do you live here or…?”

MinWoo let out a laugh. “There’s no space for me to live here. But I’m always here over the weekend in case an emergency comes up. Only emergencies, though. No routine visits. I do sleep here sometimes, though, when I’m too lazy to go home. But currently, someone else is taking up my bed here.”

“Eh? Other people sleep here?”

“You’re silly. I was talking about the one you brought in last week. He can’t exactly fit in the cages where other pets would usually recuperate.”

“Oh…”

Neither man made a move to leave. That should’ve been the end of it. TaekWoon should’ve turned to leave. He got what he came for and already thanked MinWoo for his jacket, anyway.

MinWoo grinned. “Do you want to see him?”

Shrugging, TaekWoon tried to throw his attention to the mess that lined the wall beside him. “It… doesn’t matter.”

Of course MinWoo didn’t buy it. “Sure. Since it doesn’t matter, follow me.”

He led the way to a closed door that a brass number 4, quietly opening it and peeking in before opening the door wide. TaekWoon edged his way forward, an odd replay from the time in the alleyway. This time, the hybrid was curled up, fast asleep on a worn couch. It was significantly freshened up, donned in new clothes and looking like it had actually eaten something. A blanket that was probably draped over it had crumpled to the floor.

MinWoo leaned over to replace the blanket. “Aigoo, why does this kid keep kicking this off?” He lightly brushed his hand on the hybrid’s forehead, probably checking its temperature, and it grumbled in its sleep, kicking at the blanket again.

“Is its leg okay?” TaekWoon asked tentatively.

“He has eight stitches, and I had to cut out some muscle tissue, but otherwise, it’s the leg that keeps kicking off this blanket. It seems to be doing well.”

“How did it even get an injury like that?”

MinWoo straightened, looking upward in thought. “Various things. Best case scenario: had a random run-in with something or other while he was travelling. Worst case scenario: maybe hybrid fights? He had other exterior injuries when you brought him in.”

“Hybrid fights?”

“Like dog fighting or cock fighting. Pitting animals against each other for gambling and recreational purposes.” He nodded at TaekWoon’s frown. “It’s still a thing, sadly. I don’t know why they’d have this one in a hybrid fight, though. He’s too skinny.”

TaekWoon didn’t reply, still watching then freezing as the hybrid slowly opening its eyes. It sleepily regarded TaekWoon still standing in the doorway, but it didn’t budge from its position, slowly closing its eyes to drift off again.

MinWoo missed the interaction, looking up at TaekWoon. “So? Have you come to an answer yet?”

He looked at the vet, looked down at the hybrid, then back at MinWoo. “That’s…”

Grinning, MinWoo ushered TaekWoon from the room. “I’ll give you until Tuesday afternoon. Until then, we’ll let this one sleep.”

Two days. Two days wasn’t enough for TaekWoon to sort out his thoughts. Even though he spent much of his time at his mind-numbing, data-entry job thinking of every possibility, by the time he was walking home from work on Tuesday, he still hadn’t come to a decision. Not even when he walked through the door of the clinic was his mind made up.

The girl named SoYeon was working at the front counter this time. She spotted TaekWoon and immediately brightened. She jumped up from her chair. “Just a moment! I’ll call Mr. Lee!”

TaekWoon didn’t ask her to. She was already opening the door to the side before he could stop her. He was already walking through before he’d decided to. SoYeon led him to room four before he was ready.

The door was open, and MinWoo was already there. The hybrid had moved from the sofa to sitting on a large table on the other side of the room, its legs swinging in midair and nose twitching. At the moment, MinWoo was shining a small light into its eyes when he heard SoYeon and TaekWoon’s entrance. Both MinWoo’s head and a dog ear swung in the direction of the door.

“Aha,” MinWoo hummed. “Fancy seeing you here again.”

The hybrid’s eyes darted to the door, and it spotted TaekWoon and tensed. Its legs stilled, but its nose was still twitching, catching the scent of TaekWoon easily. SoYeon skipped ahead to stand next to MinWoo, and she turned to eagerly look at TaekWoon.

“I still don’t…” TaekWoon started.

“You’re here, though, aren’t you?” MinWoo asked brightly.

Sighing, TaekWoon shoved his hands in his pockets. “Doesn’t mean anything.”

He caught the gaze of the hybrid again. It was staring at him intently, but TaekWoon couldn’t decipher what sort of emotion it could be feeling. He was half a step from leaving.

The agonizing playlist ran through his head again. He gave up.

TaekWoon took a deep breath, coughed, cleared his throat, and regarded the creature on the table. “Do you… want to go with me?”

The only reply he got was one dog ear twitching in his direction. For a while, no one said anything, all attention on the hybrid on the table. It stared for so long that TaekWoon almost questioned whether it understood him or not, but it finally shot a nervous glance at MinWoo. The vet simply grinned back and gave him a nod. As if that was enough of an answer, the hybrid looked at TaekWoon again. Slowly, it pushed itself off the table and took two shy steps towards TaekWoon. Its tail, which TaekWoon had never noticed until now, dipped low and almost hidden between its legs.

TaekWoon thought maybe he made the right choice.


	2. Chapter 2

A quick stop into MinWoo’s office for basic information and instructions, a follow-up scheduled in a week, and the two were out the door to trail away to TaekWoon’s apartment. TaekWoon strolled slowly, noticing the hybrid’s steps with his left leg still faltered. The pace didn’t occur to it; the hybrid was too busy darting its eyes everywhere, its nose and ears twitching in all directions. It lagged a few steps behind TaekWoon, purposely keeping its distance any time TaekWoon thought to let it catch up.

 _I have no idea what I’m doing._ TaekWoon sighed and made a note to probably contact SangHyuk again. He glanced over his shoulder to see if the hybrid was still following him but stopped instantly. The distance between the two had suddenly grown. The hybrid had stopped walking, staring blankly at TaekWoon. He couldn’t fathom why it would have just stopped until he noticed its posture, leaning its weight on the right leg with its left foot just barely touching the ground.

Of course. How idiotic of TaekWoon. As he walked back to where it stood, the hybrid seemed to tense up, watching TaekWoon warily. It obviously wasn’t prepared for when TaekWoon suddenly spun around and bumped its hip over so he could heft the creature up onto his back, only holding onto its right leg under the knee. It yelped in surprise but changed to a growl, immediately trying to squirm itself free.

“So what?” TaekWoon snapped. “You want to walk the rest of the way? It’s still a long way home.”

Just like before, the hybrid stopped fussing instantly, but it still sat awkwardly, keeping as much distance away from TaekWoon’s back as possible. TaekWoon didn’t wait for it to loosen up and continued along the sidewalk, resolutely ignoring the stares he got as he walked.

It had never taken so long to get home. The hybrid, still sitting awkwardly on TaekWoon’s back with only one leg being held up, kept almost sliding off, so TaekWoon would repeatedly have to pause to heft it back up. It took a particularly heavy and frustrated sigh from TaekWoon for the hybrid to finally lean forward, circling its arms around TaekWoon’s shoulders. The action made TaekWoon jump in surprise, freezing when a dog ear tickled against his cheek. But looking down, the hybrids arms were tense and shaking, only barely touching TaekWoon’s body where it was absolutely necessary.

TaekWoon steeled himself and continued on, struggling considerably less than before.

He finally set the hybrid down on its feet right outside his door to his apartment. He made a mental note regarding his lack of stamina as he punched in the code for the door. The lock released, and TaekWoon swung the door open, stepping in like normal, ready to toe off his shoes and shut the door behind him that he had to make himself stop. Looking back, the hybrid was still frozen in its place where TaekWoon had released it, blankly staring at him again. A bit embarrassed, TaekWoon cleared his throat and stepped back.

“You can go in,” he said.

Again, the hybrid hesitated, but it took halting steps past the threshold, cautiously looking around as if something could possibly jump out at it. It jumped a bit at the sound of TaekWoon shutting the door, but it continued on before it stood awkwardly in the living room as TaekWoon slipped out of his shoes.

“Are you hungry?” The hybrid quickly shook its head. Stretching, TaekWoon started to slump his way to his bedroom. “You can sit down or something. I don’t want that vet to yell at me if your leg gets worse.”

He didn’t expect it to promptly plop down on the floor, crossing its legs. It merely stared up at him, as if waiting for what TaekWoon had to say next. Speechless, TaekWoon just turned to take a shower. When he emerged into the living room again a while later, he spotted the hybrid curled up where it had sat down, asleep. It only let out a slight grunt when TaekWoon scooped it up to deposit it onto the sofa, and it didn’t shirk away from the throw TaekWoon tossed over it. It just sleepily opened one eye to look up at him before it burrowed deeper under the covers, heaving out a sigh as it dozed off again.

 _How could it not be hungry?_ TaekWoon was rudely awoken the next morning by his stomach angrily rumbling. He groaned, rolled over to see what time it was, and groaned again when he realized it was still a good hour before his alarm normally went off. He’d fallen asleep early the previous night, considering the noise he might make while making dinner and settling for cold leftovers.

TaekWoon rolled out of bed and thumped to the bathroom. He was not refreshed in the slightest when he emerged, and he continued his tromp to the kitchen. His steps stilled when he spotted a lump plus ears laying on the sofa. Its breaths were slow and easy, still asleep. The blanket was crumpled in a sad heap on the floor right next to the sofa. With a short glance, TaekWoon deduced the blanket was on the floor for a reason and decided to center his focus on satisfying his stomach.

_What do I do when I go to work? What will it do when I go to work? It’s half-human, and it’s grown… however old it is, so surely it knows how to function like a proper half-human, right? I should’ve asked SangHyuk…_

Properly satisfied with his breakfast, TaekWoon tromped back to his room, almost stumbling over himself when his alarm suddenly went off and he had to jump to shut off the piercing noise. He took his time getting ready for work, one step of his normal routine already out of the way.

He hesitated on his way out, flip-flopping decisions in his head and pacing while the decisions contradicted each other. In the end, he set a plate of food left over from breakfast on the coffee table next to the sofa and reached over to replace the blanket. He thought he was home free until he saw one dog ear flick in his direction, a sleepy eye opening soon after. It quickly scanned the visual of TaekWoon dropping the blanket over its shoulders, redirected to the food on the table, then looked back up at TaekWoon. He slowly backed up, his hands raised, hoping possibly the hybrid was a morning… thing. But it just watched him, occasionally glancing at the food.

TaekWoon didn’t miss it. “You can eat. I’m sure you’re hungry by now. There’s more for lunch in the fridge.” He paused to reconsider. “But don’t eat everything.”

No reply. Just more staring. _Do these things talk, even?_ Deciding probably not, TaekWoon turned to depart, hoping he’d still have an apartment by the time he got home.

He stressed about it at work. The mind-numbing data did nothing to distract his anxiety about returning home to shambles. He kept glancing at the microscopic clock in the corner of his computer screen, wondering why time seemed to be going backwards. When it was finally time to clock out, TaekWoon was sure he had aged probably 60 years.

By the time he rounded the corner to where his apartment building was, he was out of breath. He already made a note about his lack of stamina, but that didn’t stop him from power-walking his way home. He looked up, expecting broken glass and flames bursting from where his window should be.

The window was still intact. In fact, it was slightly open, and a nose was just peeking out from the small space. TaekWoon stopped in his tracks and watched as the nose twitched about. It twitched, twitched, but suddenly, it stopped. The nose quickly retracted, and the window flew shut.

When TaekWoon finally opened his front door (cautiously, because he was still expecting the inside to be utter destruction), he was met with the sight of the hybrid perched on the sofa, awkwardly sitting up straight, watching as TaekWoon slowly toed off his shoes at the door. It sat stiffly, only its eyes following TaekWoon as he moved about.

“I don’t… care if you open the window,” TaekWoon said. He spotted the heap of blanket on the floor. “I mean, if it gets stuffy in here or something. Do you get hot easily, or…?”

The hybrid looked down and swiftly yanked the offensive blanket up from the floor. It threw the blanket over itself, over its head and almost covering its ears, and sat up again, back straight.

“I just said… Never mind.”

TaekWoon made his way to the kitchen area – the creature’s eyes tracking him every step of the way – reaching to the drying rack for a glass only to find it vacated of any genre of glassware, silverware, or dishes. Did he put those away this morning? Opening his cupboards, everything had been neatly put away. His suspicions were confirmed when he opened the fridge for the pitcher and found the food he had wrapped up for lunch was gone.

“You didn’t have to do the dishes, too,” TaekWoon mused. The hybrid showed no reaction, still staring at him with one ear hidden by the blanket over its head. “Are you hungry? I’ll make dinner.”

He was finally answered with a muffled thump. TaekWoon stopped mid-sip of his water and stared. The hybrid didn’t make any other noise and simply leaned over so that it lay while resting its head on the armrest of the sofa.

* * *

Weekends were still a pain. An almost-literally physical pain. During the work week, TaekWoon could at least numb his brain out with work, and the effort of keeping that up through the day mentally exhausted him enough that by the time he got home, he could cook his lonesome dinner and go to sleep not long after. But weekends, he had too much free time. Too much free time for him to think. Too much free time for the agonizing playlist to run through his head.

TaekWoon rolled over and curled into a ball under his blanket. It felt like a boulder was crushing his insides. He could always sleep his life away, but…

_Boof._

His brain jolted awake. He’d almost forgotten there was a hybrid inhabiting his sofa, eating half of his food, and _did that thing seriously just bark…?_

It’s not like it was incredibly loud. Maybe if he had been doing anything else, TaekWoon would have missed it or mistook the sound for something else. He froze, eyes wide open, and waited to hear if the sound would come out again, but a long time passed with not even a peep from the next room over.

TaekWoon sighed as he lethargically pushed himself up. Laying around in bed all weekend is more than likely one reason why he was getting out of shape. Who cares. Poking his head out of the bedroom, he spotted a pair of ears just peeping over the back of the sofa. One swiveled in his direction, a pair of dark eyes following soon after.

TaekWoon was starting to get used to being stared at all the time. He crossed to the kitchen and bumbled around to make coffee, only vaguely making note of the blanket on the floor again.

_“You’re too cold.”_

The coffee was too hot.

_“I knew you were cold, but I thought you would at least warm up to me.”_

TaekWoon slouched in his chair at the dining table, steam curling over the lip of the coffee mug.

_“I thought I could bear it, but it’s too much.”_

A sigh interrupted the agonizing playlist. TaekWoon’s eyes flicked to the pair of ears lazily turning about, reacting to the slightest noise that came from outside. Outside…

It was feeling rather stuffy, after all. TaekWoon crossed to the window right next to the table, flipping the latch and easily sliding it open a bit. He briefly caught sight of perked-up ears and glittery eyes turning in his direction, but his attention was snatched away by a text message alert ringing from his phone, still moping away on the nightstand in his bedroom. He abandoned the coffee.

< Hyung! What’s up! So what happened? Did you get eaten? >

This SangHyuk kid. If TaekWoon didn’t actually need him one way or another, he maybe would have blocked him. How did TaekWoon even manage to befriend this guy?

< Yes. I’m currently a pile of shit in the park. > He reclaimed his spot at the table before the cooling mug. The hybrid had perched itself in a chair that had mysteriously moved to next to the window, leaning over the windowsill with its nose just poking through to sniff at the fresh air, the tail barely swaying.

< Nice. So he’s there, right? Can I come over? Can I see him? >

In the same amount of time it took SangHyuk to arrive at his doorstep, TaekWoon had finished lethargically sipping at his coffee, and the hybrid had contentedly replaced the chair it had pulled from the dining table and flopped again to the sofa, burrowing itself under the blanket. At the sound of the doorbell, TaekWoon saw as the dog ears shot straight up and froze. TaekWoon simply stood and strode to the door. Of course, the kid stood on the other side looking energetic and hyper.

“Hey, hyung!” Why was he so loud?

“Why is the sun so bright?” TaekWoon grumbled in reply.

The kid pushed past him without invitation. “Because you didn’t pull back your curtains, and you’re old and bitter.”

“Get out.”

“Nope. Already in here.” He skipped out of his shoes and stopped just inside the apartment.

Ignoring the suddenly tense atmosphere between the hybrid and the kid, TaekWoon shrugged past. “Do you want coffee or something?”

“Ah, no. Just water would be fine.”

TaekWoon went about to make himself more coffee, only just realizing the other two still hadn’t moved from their frozen states. “Hey,” he called out to the hybrid, “relax. This is my friend.”

The hybrid only darted its eyes in TaekWoon’s direction briefly, quickly refocusing on the stranger at the door. SangHyuk slowly lowered to a crouch while keeping his hands up in surrender, but the hybrid still didn’t relax in the slightest.

“Hey, there. It’s alright,” SangHyuk called out carefully. Ugh. He was using that gross, talking-to-kids-or-animals voice.

The hybrid didn’t take kindly to being spoken to as such for it let out a sharp snarl as it pressed itself into the cushions of the sofa. With its ears pressed flat against its scalp, it was, yet again, a repeat of when TaekWoon first saw it in the alleyway.

“Yah!” TaekWoon exclaimed. “Don’t be like that! I just said he’s fine.”

As the growl slowly faded to a grumble, SangHyuk laughed nervously and rose to stand again. “It’s okay, hyung. He probably doesn’t like strangers.”

“Here.” A glass thunked on the countertop. “Your water.”

“Ah, thanks.”

SangHyuk carefully edged along the wall to where TaekWoon stood, his movements spurring another round of growling from the sofa. When he finally reached the water glass, the hybrid swiftly slid off of the sofa and slinked to the opposite side of the room, dragging the blanket with it so that it looked like an absurd, childish ghost. It shoved itself into the corner and wrapped the blanket about itself even more, keeping its wary eyes locked on the two.

“It really doesn’t like you,” TaekWoon muttered. “It didn’t take that long for it to get used to me.”

“He probably just likes you better.” SangHyuk shrugged, glancing at the swaddled-up figure in the corner. “He looks different than what I expected, seems kinda old. How’s his leg?”

“Fine enough. It got up to sit at the window earlier. Hey, do these things talk?”

“Of course, they do. Usually not right away, though.”

“So it has a name, right?”

“Of course, he does! Geez, hyung, don’t be so daft.”

“What the hell does that even mean? I already told you, I don’t know about any of this stuff.”

“It’ll take some time.” SangHyuk finally turned to face TaekWoon completely. “But… what about _you_ , hyung? You still look like you wanna drown yourself in your coffee.”

TaekWoon avoided the kid’s eyes, sullenly stirring milk into the mug. “Maybe I do.”

“Two weeks, right? You’ll survive, hyung. I have faith in you.”

“Please get out of my apartment.”

SangHyuk finally did, obviously not right away. The hybrid stayed shoved in its corner, never relaxing. Even after the kid left, it stayed in its spot, this time glaring at TaekWoon. Even after TaekWoon set a plate of food on its usual spot at the coffee table, it didn’t even glance away.

Of course, overnight, the food was eaten and the plate put away, but the hybrid had retreated back to its pile of blanket in the corner. When TaekWoon emerged from his room the next morning, he spotted the hybrid lightly dozing against the wall. It jolted awake from the slightest sound TaekWoon made, though, and tensed, watching with owlish eyes. The bags under its eyes were a clear indication that it probably kept itself up through the night.

He avoided the glare and robotically went about his usual coffee routine. TaekWoon got halfway through his mug before he was fed up with the scrutiny.

“Would you just go to sleep?” he demanded. “Your face is gonna haunt my nightmares.”

It promptly snorted – TaekWoon could almost make out a scowl from beneath the blanket. Although it kept its gaze for a bit, just to be sure, it finally minutely relaxed against the corner and drifted off.

He doesn’t know how long he let it sleep – probably about as long as he spent with the heel of his hand holding up his cheekbone as he stared blankly into his empty coffee mug. After a while, TaekWoon finally started pulling himself out of his braindead reverie. He slowly stood up, letting his eyes refocus at their own pace. The hybrid’s ears swiveled at the sound, the rest of its body stirring awake.

It was already late in the afternoon. He’d completely forgone breakfast and lunch, and the work week was too quickly approaching. More wasted days, but what else would he do?

TaekWoon cleared his throat to find his voice, instantly catching the attention of the hybrid which made it tense up again as it snapped awake. “Yah… Aren’t you tired of sitting around? Let’s go outside.”

Of course it didn’t respond but just stared back at TaekWoon. Both were frozen still.

Sighing, TaekWoon spoke up again. “You’ve been sitting inside with your nose sticking out the window the whole week. Don’t tell me you don’t want to go outside. Let’s go.”

He said. The hybrid still didn’t move, but briefly, it seemed to ponder. TaekWoon could see the racing thoughts passing behind its eyes before it looked up at him again. Slowly, it wobbled to its feet, still protectively wrapped in the throw with its ears and tail hidden.

At least it didn’t decide to bring along the blanket for a walk. It was discarded as soon as TaekWoon opened the door, and the two were slowly strolling down the sidewalk towards the general direction of the park across the street. Just from a quick glance, the lope in the hybrid’s steps was almost invisible, but it still made no hints at changing its leisurely pace. However, rather than sniffing about and observing their surroundings, it kept glancing at TaekWoon as if it was watching him, waiting for something to happen.

TaekWoon, on the other hand, had nothing to show. Moping outdoors proved about as useless as moping indoors, and he was well past lost in thought as they walked. The people around him annoyed him. Happy people enjoying the nice weather on a late, Sunday afternoon. Who cares if they’re happy? Who let them?

Suddenly, the hybrid flew past him, bolting forward at full speed.

“Ah--!!!”

He hadn’t even processed what was going on before the hybrid was almost all the way across the park. Should he chase after it? Was it running from something?

Or was it running away?

Of course. Being with TaekWoon was about as exciting as running one’s face on a brick wall. Of course it wanted to leave. Anyone would want to leave…

It took a while of TaekWoon’s wallowing in self-pity to realize the speck of the hybrid had stopped. It was hard to tell, but it seemed like the creature had completely stopped in its tracks and turned to look back at TaekWoon. Was it running from something, after all? TaekWoon glanced behind himself just to be sure. Nothing special; just a few people here and there minding their own business. He looked back to see the hybrid had plopped itself to the ground and crossed its legs beneath itself.

“Why did you run off like that?” TaekWoon asked. He had trotted across the park to meet with the hybrid again. It stayed put, only casually scratching itself behind a dog ear. “What about your leg?”

No reply. It stared up at TaekWoon from the ground, the suspicious glare completely replaced with the glittering curiosity in its eyes.

“Are you ever gonna talk? How am I supposed to call you?”

Birds tweeted nearby.

He heaved a deep sigh. “Whatever. Let’s just go home and eat.” At that, the hybrid’s tail swished on the ground, its eyes glittering even more. TaekWoon stared. “What, of course you’re hungry. We haven’t eaten all day. Get up, and let’s go.”

It obediently jumped to its feet and followed after TaekWoon, the tail still upright and waving happily.

* * *

MinWoo hummed approvingly. “Good. Good. His leg is doing much better.”

The two had resumed their daily schedule. Hybrid occupying the couch, staring at TaekWoon as he went about his day. Breakfast. Leave lunch in the fridge. Work. Come home. Window open. Dinner. Sleep. Repeat.

The hybrid was due for that follow-up with the vet, though, so Tuesday evening found TaekWoon sitting on the old couch in Room 4 of the veterinary clinic, arms crossed and spacing out. Perched atop the table, the hybrid cheerily swished its tail back and forth as it sipped through a straw at something in a bottle. MinWoo straightened up, fixing the leg of the shorts the hybrid had nicked from TaekWoon’s closet at one point.

“You’ve been taking good care of the wound,” MinWoo commented. “I’m surprised.”

When no one replied, TaekWoon broke from his trip through space. “What? You were talking to me?”

“Obviously.”

“I didn’t do anything. What are you talking about?”

“Cleaning the area and changing the dressing? That wasn’t you?”

“No.”

Both TaekWoon and the vet looked over to the only other being in the room. The hybrid seemed startled about the sudden attention, but when it realized what they were talking about, its posture sagged as a guilty expression spread on its face, ears drooping a bit.

“Well,” TaekWoon quickly cleared his throat, “it doesn’t really matter. I wasn’t using that first-aid stuff, anyway, so I don’t care if it was, either.”

A sly grin quirked up MinWoo’s lips. “I see. Good thing we got that figured out. Well, his leg is in good shape. You haven’t done much, have you? As far as stressing it in any manner.”

TaekWoon glanced upward in thought. “It’s mainly just been sitting on my couch. Sometimes it sits at the window, but then it lays down again. Wait. I took it outside the other day, and it ran away.”

“It… He _ran_?”

“Yeah. I thought it was actually running away, but then it sat down. It still doesn’t talk, so I have no clue why.”

“I see…” the vet mumbled to himself. “Well, since he seems to be in good shape, that’s all we’ll do for today. If he’s ever sick, don’t hesitate to come by.”

“Do you ever get sick?” TaekWoon wondered aloud as the two slowly ambled their way back to the apartment.

The hybrid shrugged, slightly more occupied with looking across the street at a small group of people staring back at it.

TaekWoon continued, not expecting a vocal reply, “You’d better not. I’m sure that vet is gonna start charging me more than I can afford. Can you get a job, even?”

This time, it glanced at TaekWoon briefly before it shrugged again, still rather nonchalant.

“You need to pay for all of the food you’re eating off of me. Probably even the utilities if you’re using the bathroom. You don’t stink, so I’m assuming you’re using my shampoo, too.” The tail wagged. “I never said you could use my shampoo.” The tail stopped, and both ears and tail drooped with guilt. “Do you think I’m being serious right now? Quit taking everything I say so seriously.”

“What about clothes?” TaekWoon asked. The hybrid had bumped TaekWoon away from the kitchen after dinner, briskly shooing him away when TaekWoon started to roll up his sleeves to wash the dishes. He didn’t make another attempt and dropped to the sofa, reaching down to pick up the blanket that was, once again, shoved to the floor. “Do people make clothes for your types?”

Again, the hybrid shrugged.

“Yah, how long am I gonna be talking to myself? If you’re not gonna talk, I’m not talking, either.”

The days continued on as such. TaekWoon kept his word and only spoke when absolutely necessary. The hybrid still kept on with its antics, stepping it up by following TaekWoon through the apartment since he was no longer sofa-ridden. Once, TaekWoon found half of the creature’s body leaning out the window when he turned the corner coming home from work. It was jubilant when the front door opened.

“Why don’t you go outside sometimes?” TaekWoon suggested. “I’ll give you the code to my door, so you can go in and out whenever. Just don’t get in trouble.”

He left the code on a Post-It note next to the hybrid’s plate of breakfast the next day. When he came home from work, however, the window was shut. When he reached his floor, he found the hybrid sitting in a tight ball right outside of his door, its arms wrapped around its knees, and the hood of TaekWoon’s shirt pulled up to conceal its ears. The ears beneath the hood twitched, though, as TaekWoon approached, and the hybrid’s face quickly swiveled around, gloomy expression instantly beaming before it was clouded with guilt.

“What are you doing out here?” No reply, but the tail – which also had been slightly concealed from the hybrid sitting on it – feebly thumped against the ground. “Did you forget the code?” It shrank into an even tighter ball. Sighing, TaekWoon easily punched in the password and held open the door. “Come on, then.”

Who knows how long it had been sitting outside; the plate for lunch was still in the refrigerator.

TaekWoon switches his alarm off for the weekends. Weekends are meant for sleeping in. So why did it seem way too early that Saturday morning when he slowly woke up. Yes, the sun was barely shining through his bedroom window. Why did this happen? He glanced over his shoulder and found out why.

The hybrid had perched itself on the side of his bed, sitting cross-legged and staring down at him, curiously. TaekWoon stared back.

“What makes you think you can get on my bed?”

Maybe it was his not-very-comforting morning voice, but the hybrid wilted instantly and slowly slid backwards off the bed until it thumped to the floor, looking like it had just been lashed on the face.

Serves TaekWoon right. He better feel guilty. “Yah… What did I tell you about taking what I say to heart? I was just kidding.” He sat up with the groan of an old man, the hybrid’s glittering eyes following his movements. “What are you doing waking me up so early on the weekend? Tell me your name, so I can properly scold you.”

TaekWoon didn’t even have time to comprehend the grin that spread on the hybrid’s face – the first time TaekWoon had ever seen it actually smile.

“HakYeon.”

Stare.

TaekWoon stared even more. “What… did you just…?”

The hybrid tilted its head. “You asked for my name. My name is HakYeon.”

He was struck speechless. Why did its voice sound so much warmer than TaekWoon expected? Rather, why did it turn TaekWoon into a word-fumbling dingo? “Well… then… HakYeon, you said? Why are you waking me up so early on a weekend?”

Its head tilted in the other direction. “Don’t you have to go to work?”

“It’s the _weekend_. I’m going back to sleep.” TaekWoon promptly flopped back over and yanked the sheets up.

“Ehhhh?!” Okay, its voice wasn’t warm anymore. It was loud and annoying. “But I’m hungry!!”


	3. Chapter 3

Completely _wrong_ and _conniving_ for the thing to bribe TaekWoon out of bed with a hot mug of coffee. It was still stinking early.

When half of the mug’s contents had been consumed, TaekWoon finally spoke with a grumpy croak. “So. Explain yourself.”

The whole time, HakYeon the hybrid had been sitting across from TaekWoon, watching him slowly gulp down the coffee with its head resting between its propped up hands. It tilted its head in curiosity. “What am I explaining?”

Gulp. Deep sigh. Gather thoughts. “Who are you, where did you come from, how did you end up in that alleyway like you did, et cetera.”

Its head tilted in the other direction. “I’m… HakYeon…?”

It was probably still too early in the morning. “Next question.”

“Hmmm.” It turned its dog ears about a few times before it pointed its finger in some direction, roughly southward. “I came from… far away, that way.”

“I give up.”

“Do you want more coffee?”

“Yes. No. Not yet. In a little while. I need to shower first.”

“Ehhhh, but I’m hungry…” It melted onto the table with a pout.

TaekWoon tutted disapprovingly. “You’ll survive for fifteen minutes. I’m just going to shower.”

Maybe TaekWoon wasn’t yet used to opening the bathroom door and seeing the hybrid curled into a moping ball on the opposite wall, looking like TaekWoon had gone on a century-long journey. Its reaction upon seeing TaekWoon again was much like that, too.

“What are we gonna do today?” The hybrid was speaking through the crack at the bottom of the currently closed door which led to TaekWoon’s bedroom. It was shut out from the room because why did it think it could follow TaekWoon in when he was about to change from the towel wrapped around his waist to normal clothes? It had whined at first, cutting short when TaekWoon told it to shut up, and then flopped to the ground.

“I don’t ever do anything on weekends,” TaekWoon replied.

“Why?”

“Because I’d rather sleep until eternity.”

“Why?”

“Don’t you start.”

“Why?”

The bedroom door opened with the force of a typhoon, a silhouette of TaekWoon’s menacing figure on the other side. But HakYeon merely squealed and skittered off in the direction of the living room. Heaving a sigh, TaekWoon followed him out. HakYeon had plopped its bottom to the floor.

“I need groceries, and I’m tired of you stealing my clothes. We’re going to see SangHyuk.”

For a brief moment, the idiot grin on HakYeon’s face disappeared at the sound of the kid’s name, but then the tail thumped against the floor. “Okay~”

TaekWoon didn’t think it would be a big deal, taking the hybrid out and about. When it previously went for a run in the park, for the most part, people didn’t stop and gawk at its existence. Riding the subway, though, turned out to be a different experience. Every time the train went underground, the hybrid jumped up in its seat to stare at the blackness through the window. There was nothing to see, so why did it insist on almost standing in the chair to look out? Of course the other passengers would stare at its stupid behavior.

“ _Sit down!_ ” TaekWoon hissed, breaking the heavy silence that always loomed in the subway cars.

HakYeon obediently responded but still would frantically look over its shoulder to confirm the darkness on the other side of the window. It was a relief when the train passed over the river, and there was actually something to look at through the window.

It was an even greater relief when they finally disembarked after arriving at the stop close to SangHyuk’s apartment. HakYeon’s stride was slowed by its need to sniff at the new surroundings which in turn made TaekWoon have to reach back and yank the creature along lest it get pulled away from the river of people who passed through the streets of Hongdae.

HakYeon instantly went from curious to wary as they reached the door of the apartment. Its nose was going crazy as they waited, the tail low and still contrary to when it swished cheerily as they traversed outside. The ears twitched as TaekWoon reached up to hit the doorbell, swiveling at the sound of thumping from inside coming closer, and the door swung open instantly.

“Ah, hyung!” SangHyuk’s expression lit up. “You’re here!”

TaekWoon could only part his lips for a reply before HakYeon was shoving the two humans aside so it could bolt into the apartment.

“Yah, HakYeon!”

TaekWoon was about to follow right after the creature to cuss it out, but he was easily held back by SangHyuk (also, conveniently, a monster) who was actually laughing. “It’s okay, hyung. Just let them meet.”

Them, as in, the hybrids. It had been a while since TaekWoon last saw the hybrid that lived with SangHyuk. For the most part, it was a hermit. It spent most of its time sleeping in the apartment, waking only to eat or find a different spot in the apartment to laze about. Considering SangHyuk spent most of his time in class at the university, there was no reason for it to go out, anyway. As far as TaekWoon knew, it never went out on its own, either, usually only ever tagging along with SangHyuk to go out to eat or shop.

He barely got a glimpse of it as it jumped up from where it had been sitting on the worn-out couch in the living room. HakYeon was already standing before it, stretching up on tip-toes to look taller, it seemed. TaekWoon and SangHyuk watched as the two stood almost chest to chest, wordless, sizing each other up. Finally, the other hybrid looked over HakYeon’s shoulder to SangHyuk, letting out a distressed whine. HakYeon, on the other hand, quickly looked over its own shoulder as well to the two still at the door, eyes glittering and tail suddenly swishing wildly.

“I guess they’re friends now,” SangHyuk chirped.

TaekWoon glanced at the kid. “Friends? They look like they’re about to fight.”

“Nah, they’re fine. WonShik is just hungry. Aren’t you hungry? We should go eat something.”

After a stupidly expensive lunch – which TaekWoon properly scolded SangHyuk for being so gluttonous and selfish – the four had ventured to a park where the two hybrids were chasing each other across the grass, sometimes attracting a nearby child to join the wild races back and forth. TaekWoon and SangHyuk were lazing on the ground, SangHyuk completely laid out in the grass in order to absorb as much solar power as possible.

“Clothes? There’s a place in Myungdong that sells stuff for hybrids.”

“Is it expensive?” TaekWoon’s bank account was already hurting from paying for lunch.

“Mmm kinda. I mean, there aren’t very many stores like that, so… yeah. But, I mean, _I_ could afford getting WonShik some outfits, so I’m sure you’ll be fine.”

TaekWoon snorted. “It can get a job, then, so it can buy its own damn clothes.”

SangHyuk stared at TaekWoon for a bit before he replied carefully, “Hybrids can’t read, you know. I don’t think he’d be able to get a job very easily.”

“Eh?” TaekWoon’s memory flashed back to when the hybrid couldn’t get back into his apartment. “They can’t read? Can’t they learn?”

“People have tried to teach them, but they can’t seem to retain it very well, if at all. I dunno. Something about their brain isn’t built that way.”

“Huh…”

SangHyuk finally sat up and brushed at the stray blades of grass stuck to his shirt and in his hair. “I think it’s time to go back. I gotta study.”

“Yeah.” TaekWoon looked across the grass. The two had finally dogpiled (no pun intended) on the ground, HakYeon sprawled out much like SangHyuk was with WonShik draped over HakYeon’s stomach. How carefree they must have been to just randomly fall asleep in the middle of a park. “Hey! HakYeon!” An ear twitched, and HakYeon was instantly awake, raising its head to find TaekWoon. “Get up. We’re leaving.”

It practically threw WonShik off in its haste to return to TaekWoon’s side – the other hybrid grunting painfully as it rolled on the grass. SangHyuk laughed and trotted over to coax WonShik into sitting up instead of falling asleep again.

“We’ll get groceries and then go home,” TaekWoon said.

HakYeon grinned brightly. Maybe TaekWoon did, too.

* * *

“Oh, you’re friends with Hyukkie, then!”

“Yeah.” TaekWoon was more focused on sneaking glances at price tags.

“It’s a good thing you came in. This poor guy looks so dumpy in your clothes.”

“Uh-huh.” He almost felt his heart stop when he saw four zeroes tagged on a shirt. At least there was a one in front of them. Wait, for a _shirt_?

TaekWoon pretty much ignored everything as the shopkeeper – what did he say his name is? – and HakYeon started to cruise through the small store in double speed. Shopping trips like this were nauseatingly familiar, so TaekWoon tightly crossed his arms around his body and shoved himself into a corner against a bare wall.

The last time he’d come to Myungdong wasn’t too long ago.

_“How do I look in this?”_

_“We have to go to this store next!”_

There were legs standing in front of him. Fighting back the cold nausea, TaekWoon took a bit before he looked up to see HakYeon staring at him curiously, head slightly tilted to the side.

TaekWoon stared back. “What?”

The head righted itself, tail instantly wagging. Only then did TaekWoon realize it was decked out in a new outfit. He didn’t know much about fashion, but the hybrid certainly looked better out of TaekWoon’s clothes and in its new ensemble.

How much is it, though?

The hybrid continued to prance merrily about the store even as TaekWoon handed his credit card to the store owner.

“I’ll give you a discount this time,” the store owner said brightly. “As first-time customers and since you’re Hyukkie’s friends.”

TaekWoon sighed. “Can’t this thing work for you so it can buy its own things?”

“Ah, no, sorry. Even though he’s cute, I can’t afford him. Plus, hybrids don’t like talking to strangers, so how could he possibly work here?”

“Can’t talk to strangers. Can’t read. What good are you besides vacuuming my wallet dry?” TaekWoon muttered to himself as they cruised the aisles of the grocery store. He took note of the way HakYeon pouted, watching as TaekWoon started to reach for intestines, gopchang in mind for dinner. “ _And_ a picky eater. You need to learn your place.”

He decided on something else for dinner.

The days continued as normal. The only thing that changed was when TaekWoon woke up each morning, HakYeon would be dozing with only its head on the edge of TaekWoon’s bed. Each night it still fell asleep on the sofa but would migrate to TaekWoon’s room overnight. TaekWoon vaguely wondered if it woke up with his alarm and just pretended to stay asleep or if it really slept like a rock.

Somewhere in the middle of the week, TaekWoon stirred in the dead of the night and blearily woke up to see a shadow creeping in his bedroom. It froze, noticing that TaekWoon had spotted it in the act. TaekWoon heaved a sigh and grumbled something along the lines of “come on, then” as he scooted to one side of the full-size bed. He was already halfway back to sleep as the mattress shifted under HakYeon’s weight.

Luckily, HakYeon wasn’t the type to steal the covers overnight.

At first, he wasn’t sure what woke him up that one morning. It wasn’t his alarm; that was actually about to go off in roughly five minutes. Then he realized, slowly opening his eyes, it was HakYeon. He blinked a few times, getting the faint sunlight to help his eyes focus.

HakYeon’s expression was distraught, frowning slightly with its brows pushed together. Its breaths were short and gasping, and it seemed to be trembling. For a second, TaekWoon wondered if maybe it was sick.

“HakYeon…?” TaekWoon started to reach out.

It happened so quickly that TaekWoon almost missed everything.

HakYeon’s eyes shot open, wild and delirious, and its hands suddenly clawed into the sheets. Teeth bared, it swiftly kicked out with one leg.

The foot connected with TaekWoon’s body. Groin, to be exact.

[Curse words.]

The force of the kick knocked TaekWoon off of the bed, but he really couldn’t feel anything but pain, exorbitant pain, and stars exploded in his eyes. Oh deity. Good bye.

“T-TaekWoon!”

He thinks he saw HakYeon jump off the bed. Maybe it was at his side on the floor? Are there two hybrids in his apartment? Ohhhhh my Gooddddddd…

“TaekWoon!!!”

It seemed like hours went by of TaekWoon feebly clutching at his tenderized manhood while gasping with HakYeon in hysterics at his side. He had finally gained enough of his senses to see HakYeon almost in tears.

TaekWoon rolled to push himself up. “I’m okay. I’m okay. I just… need to breathe.” He spotted the clock. “ _Shit_. I’m running late…”

Even as he hastily hobbled through his apartment, HakYeon halfway attempted to tail him around but would quickly move out of the way if TaekWoon tried to double back. It followed him to the door, timidly hiding against the wall.

TaekWoon tried not to trip as he fumbled with his shoes. “Sorry I couldn’t make breakfast. Uh, there’s some leftovers in the fridge, so you can eat that.”

“Ah… okay…”

As soon as he was out the door, TaekWoon tried to right himself and not walk around like he’d just been punted in the nuts first thing in the morning. He monitored his restroom breaks at work just to be sure he wasn’t pissing blood.

Noting his closed window as he rounded the corner on his way home from work, TaekWoon doubled his steps to his apartment. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting to see upon opening his door, but a very dejected HakYeon kneeling on the floor in the living room was definitely not it. HakYeon’s eyes lifted as TaekWoon opened the door, and it almost seemed like the hybrid was about to jump up to celebrate but quickly changed gears, remembering it was kneeling on the floor for a reason. That didn’t stop the end of its tail from weakly thumping against the floor.

“Yah, what are you doing?” TaekWoon asked as he slipped out of his shoes.

It was so obvious that HakYeon wanted to jump up, but it remained on its knees on the floor, hands balled into fists atop its thighs. The tail gained a bit more strength and swished a bit on the floor, but when TaekWoon moved to crouch in front of the hybrid, it immediately stopped and curled back in, HakYeon shrinking to make himself smaller.

It seemed like the right thing to do. TaekWoon reached out with his hand at the hybrid, but he didn’t expect HakYeon to flinch, squeezing its eyes shut and tensing up. As if TaekWoon was about to strike the thing. He vaguely wondered what would have conditioned a response like that as he gently let his hand rest atop the hybrid’s head. For a good two seconds, HakYeon remained frozen before one eye slowly opened, getting a glimpse of TaekWoon. After gauging the situation, HakYeon instantly pressed its head into TaekWoon’s palm, still warily watching to see if that was a bad move or not.

TaekWoon reacted by ruffling HakYeon’s hair, making one of the dog ears wobble. “Why are you acting like you did something wrong? What happened this morning?”

HakYeon wilted the slightest bit, still managing to press its head against TaekWoon’s hand. “It… I was having a nightmare…”

“Is that all? That was some kind of nightmare for you to react like that.”

“More than a nightmare…” HakYeon murmured, eyes falling and looking someplace far away, “it was a memory… from the time when I had my first human friend.”

HakYeon probably would have continued if it wasn’t for the sudden grumble that rose from its stomach. The hybrid flushed and daintily pointed its face in another direction.

TaekWoon held back a chuckle. “Sit at the table and tell me about it while I make dinner.”

HakYeon quickly swiveled its head back to look at TaekWoon seriously. “I can’t.”

“What? Why?”

“I can’t stand. I tried to stand up earlier, but I think my legs are frozen.”

“Eh? How long have you been sitting here, then?”

“Ever since you left this morning.”

“Eh?!” Is there anything in this world that can remain in that position for nine hours? That means the hybrid didn’t eat breakfast or lunch, either. TaekWoon sighed and pushed himself to his feet, holding out his hand. “Come on, then.”


	4. Chapter 4

The soup was left to simmer when TaekWoon finally joined HakYeon at the table. The hybrid had been cheerily snacking on leftovers as TaekWoon prepared dinner. The last bite was finished off with an impolite “nyam nyam”, and HakYeon looked expectantly at TaekWoon who had just settled into his chair.

“Should I start now…?” HakYeon asked, a bit timid.

“If you want to,” TaekWoon offered.

“Hmmm.” The hybrid’s eyes rolled upward in thought. “I guess the beginning is after I left home. Out of all of my siblings, I was the last one to leave. Well, I travelled for a while. I saw a lot of different people, but there was one person who stuck out to me the most.” At that, HakYeon grinned widely. “That’s because he scolded me.

“‘Don’t trust people so easily!’ he said. ‘Humans can be really bad!’ Another human had tricked me and stole half of my things. He tried to chase after the thief, but I guess he lost him.

“Kang SungHo was his name. I met him just a few days after I left home. He lived by himself in a…” HakYeon paused, blinked, looked upward to search for the name, and then looked at TaekWoon for help. “It was a…”

TaekWoon cocked an eyebrow. “A…?”

“… house. But a really small house. On wheels.”

“A small house on wheels…?”

Scrunching up its face, HakYeon sighed in frustration. “I can’t remember what he called it. But it’s like a big… bean. But it’s a house. Also, a car.”

“So… a mobile bean house.” The image popped into TaekWoon’s mind. “Ahhh, I think I know what you’re talking about. Was it an RV?”

Again, HakYeon’s eyes darted upwards. “Yeah… Yeah, that sounds like it.”

“So you obviously weren’t in the city. There’s no way he could’ve navigated that thing through a bunch of people on these streets. Why did he have that kind of thing, anyway?”

“Yeah, it definitely wasn’t like here. The roads there were longer, and there weren’t buildings and buildings on top of each other. Easier to walk, but much less interesting things to smell. Anyway, he was nice. He talked a lot and always cooked his own food. I travelled with him for a while.”

The mirth slowly disappeared from HakYeon’s expression until its face was blank, void of emotion. “One day, we had stopped to refuel. SungHo was outside, and I stayed inside. My bed was in a really small space right above the front car part, and there’s a curtain so no one could see me. I was waking up when I heard him yelling at someone. The door to the front opened, there was a loud bang, and I didn’t hear SungHo anymore.

“The car started and drove immediately. I stayed where I was since I was hidden, but I could hear people shouting outside. I didn’t recognize the smell of the person who was driving, and he just kept driving really fast. He drove for a long time, but at some point, he stopped. It was quiet outside, but I was only listening to his footsteps. He walked into the house part to look around, but then he walked up to where my bed was.”

TaekWoon was completely absorbed in HakYeon’s story. “He saw you?”

HakYeon nodded. “But I was scared, so as soon as he pulled the curtain back, I kicked him in the face.”

“Is that what was in your nightmare? That’s when you kicked me?” He must have been right because HakYeon sagged with guilt. TaekWoon reached out to wobble one of HakYeon’s ears. “I’m not angry. Go on with your story.”

“Right. So… I kicked him in the face and ran away. But I ran away too fast. I left all of my things behind, and I had no idea where I was. And especially after that happened, I didn’t trust humans very much, so the days after that were really hard. I stole food and slept anyplace where the rain couldn’t reach me. I’m not sure how long I did that, but then, someone approached me.

“I thought they finally caught me stealing. I thought I was in trouble, but they said they were offering me a job. ‘You just have to train for a little bit, and then you’ll be perfect.’ I had no clue what they were talking about, but I think at that point, I was tired of being a homeless thief, so I followed them. Turns out, it was hybrid fighting.”

“So the vet was right?”

HakYeon started to shake its head but stopped to consider. “Well, maybe. I mean, I did do that for a while. I was good at it, even though I was small compared to the hybrids they set me up against. Because I’m small, I’m faster, and it’s easy to wear out the opponent quickly. I never got hurt too badly in my fights, and even when I did, the humans who… ‘employed’ me would keep me from fighting until I was better. They said there’s no point in wasting money that way. Living like that wasn’t too hard, either. I didn’t need the money I won from the games because the humans gave me a place to stay, food, and clothes; that was all I needed.

“Well, after some time, a different group of humans came to watch a match, and they kept talking with the humans who employed me. I didn’t know what they were talking about, but my humans kept saying no, no deal. They didn’t explain anything to me, either. A few days after that, I was kidnapped in the middle of the night.”

HakYeon’s face shifted back to the blank, emotionless mask. “They wrapped a bag around my head so tight that I almost suffocated, probably so it would be hard for me to smell the things around me in case I escaped and tried to go back to where I was. When we finally arrived to wherever they had taken me, they locked me in a dark room with no windows. There was always someone guarding the door, and if I tried to escape, he would beat me. If I tried to fight back, more would appear and beat me until I wouldn’t fight anymore.

“I couldn’t really tell how long I was there, but it felt like a really long time. I tried to listen to what the humans were talking about, but all I heard was they were waiting for something. Then, one day, they opened the door and dragged me to another room. Apparently, what they were waiting for was another hybrid.”

“Were they going to make you fight?” TaekWoon interrupted.

But HakYeon simply shook its head. “No, the other hybrid was a catgirl. And it seems what they were waiting for was for her to go into heat.” When TaekWoon stared dumbly without a word, HakYeon continued, “They were trying to get me to mate with her.”

“… Wait, what? Is that even possible?”

HakYeon’s shoulders lifted and fell lightly, as if the whole topic was something as ordinary as a discussion of the day’s weather. “I don’t know. Maybe if the situation had been different. But I wasn’t attracted to her in that way. I don’t think she was attracted to me, either, but they shut us both in the room as if waiting around would make us finally do it. Instead, I planned how to escape out of there with her.

“Everything happened so quickly. Since we hadn’t made any noise for a long time, a human opened the door to check on us. We attacked him and ran. Somehow, it was nothing compared when I tried to escape before. Even though they came at us in mobs, we were still able to outrun them. Even when one of them used a knife on me- ah, that’s when I got that wound on my leg – we could still outrun them. As soon as we made it to open air, the catgirl disappeared down an alley, and I haven’t seen her since.

“It was easier to run aboveground since there were more people to hide behind. I lost the humans not long afterwards, but I kept running. I kept running until I couldn’t run because of my leg. That’s when I eventually collapsed in that alleyway. Apparently, no one ever went that way, not even to collect garbage, because I laid there for at least two nights.”

At that, a sunshine smile found its way back onto HakYeon’s face. “And that’s when you found me.”

TaekWoon’s heart was torn. “You really went through a lot. No wonder you kept growling at me that time.”

“Also, when SangHyuk came? I got suspicious of you. I thought you two were a part of those humans’ gang. That’s why I tried to run.”

“So why did you come back? Why did you decide to trust me in the first place, especially considering everything you’ve been through?”

HakYeon considered for a bit. “Humans have… what do you call it… a sixth sense? That feeling when you think something is wrong. It was like that. With the dirty humans, I always felt like they were evil. They smelled angry and greedy and scared. You smelled scared, too, but you were… sad? Very sad. Also, lonely.”

For the first time in a while, ever since HakYeon had first appeared, TaekWoon suddenly remembered the agonizing playlist. However, it didn’t leave a painful hole in his chest. Instead, it was a minor pulse, a vague reminder that something used to be there.

“Sad… would be correct,” TaekWoon mused. “At that time, I’d just been dumped out of a serious relationship. I didn’t think anything was wrong with us, but she did.”

“Why did she end it?” HakYeon asked curiously.

“She said I was too aloof, too cold.”

Without warning, HakYeon’s hand rose up to press against TaekWoon’s cheek. TaekWoon froze instantly. HakYeon’s fingertips were warm.

“Hmmm?” The hybrid’s head tilted in confusion. “You seem warm to me…”

TaekWoon swatted HakYeon’s hand away. “She didn’t mean literally, obviously.” The hybrid still stared at him questioningly, so TaekWoon stood. “Dinner should be ready by now.”

The distraction worked. HakYeon cheered brightly as TaekWoon brought the pot to the table, pinching its lips together when TaekWoon filled the bowl in front of it, its excitement apparent through the mad swishing of the dog tail.

“You know,” HakYeon started as TaekWoon sat down after serving himself a bowl, “it’s really too bad nothing happened between me and that catgirl.” TaekWoon was staring dumbly again. “She was really pretty, after all.”

A spoon was brandished threateningly and HakYeon flinched, laughing. “Quit acting like I’d be jealous, you mongrel. Eat your food.”

HakYeon didn’t hesitate to flop onto TaekWoon’s bed once the table was cleared and the dishes were put away, already starting to doze from its belly being filled to the brim. The hybrid was fast asleep by the time TaekWoon had finished washing up for the night.

His thoughts vaguely wandered through everything HakYeon had told him. He had only begun to drift off when he heard HakYeon grunt. Glancing over, he saw the hybrid was still asleep, its fingers only slightly twitching. It must have been in the midst of a dream.

TaekWoon reached over, hesitated, then lightly rested his hand on HakYeon’s head, right between the pointed dog ears. HakYeon almost flinched away but instead pushed his head up so that TaekWoon’s hand slipped down, sandwiched between the pillow and HakYeon’s cheek. Nuzzling into TaekWoon’s palm, one of HakYeon’s hands lifted to rest on TaekWoon’s forearm. Content, HakYeon returned to its previous deep sleep.

TaekWoon was trapped.

* * *

There weren’t any more rude awakenings after that. Their days continued on as normal.

For a while.

TaekWoon stirred awake from his sleep. It was uncomfortably warm, verging on too hot. It took him a bit to get his senses together to figure out where he was. First of all, it was a weekday, and he was waking up before his alarm again. Second, it wasn’t exactly time for the weather to be warm enough to heat up his apartment if, for instance, the electricity went out.

The heat was emanating from beside him. TaekWoon blearily looked over, spotting the bump of HakYeon sleeping atop the blanket as usual.

Something was wrong.

TaekWoon sat up, blinking the sleep from his eyes as he reached his hand out to press against the hybrid’s forehead. HakYeon jerked awake but didn’t pull away, opening one eye to glance up at TaekWoon. The tail thumped a few times against the bed, but it flopped down again as the one eye squeezed shut. HakYeon was clenching its jaw tight, its brow pushed together.

“HakYeon?” Fever. HakYeon definitely had a fever. “HakYeon, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”

No answer, but the tail did lift to thump against the bed a few more times. HakYeon scooted across the bed until it pressed itself against TaekWoon’s body. A small sigh that ended as a whine came out. TaekWoon was panicking. He didn’t even know what he did when he got sick, himself – it rarely ever happened, and when it did, he would sleep it off – so how could he possibly know what to do if a hybrid got sick?

For half a second, he thought of shooting a message to SangHyuk. No, it was barely past six in the morning. The kid was probably only just falling asleep.

Call the vet? Where did the business card from however long ago disappear to?

What about work? Call in? No, out of the question.

HakYeon shivered next to him. Decisively, TaekWoon threw the blanket over HakYeon as he detached himself to stand. Whining louder, HakYeon made to follow TaekWoon.

“No, you stay there,” TaekWoon commanded. “And don’t kick off the blanket.”

Another whine, the hybrid’s eyes opening then to stare morosely as TaekWoon swiftly left the room to get ready for work.

When TaekWoon returned a bit later, fully dressed and with a warm bowl of juk in hand, only HakYeon’s tail had emerged from beneath the blanket. It swished a few times as TaekWoon approached, HakYeon’s nose twitching in the direction of the bowl.

TaekWoon set the bowl on the nightstand right next to HakYeon. “Eat this, and stay in bed, alright? I’ll be back right after work. Don’t kick off the blanket.”

Even through the fevered haze, HakYeon still beamed up at TaekWoon, tail swishing more energetically. That made TaekWoon feel a bit more at ease, but it still didn’t keep him from vaguely worrying about it at while he was at work.

The elevator back up to his apartment at the end of the day had never gone slower. The metal doors hadn’t even finished opening before TaekWoon was charging through to get to his unit at the end of the hall. His fingers quickly tapped out the password, and as soon as he swung the door open, he already knew.

“HakYeon?”

He didn’t even bother kicking off his shoes at the door. TaekWoon was already at the bedroom door.

HakYeon was still a lump in his bed, dutifully wrapped in the blanket, the bowl from the morning empty and perched on the nightstand. But HakYeon didn’t move in response to TaekWoon’s call. TaekWoon swept to the side of the bed, kneeling and pressing his hand to HakYeon’s forehead. The fever had gone even higher, beads of sweat mussing HakYeon’s bangs wildly. Its brow was furrowed even more intensely, and this time, HakYeon was taking shaky, labored breaths.

“HakYeon?”

Still no response. TaekWoon immediately reached out to sling HakYeon over his back, blanket and all. Even though HakYeon hadn’t answered, the hybrid instantly wrapped its arms tightly around TaekWoon’s shoulders and pressed its face into TaekWoon’s neck.

“You’re okay, puppy,” TaekWoon assured him as he thumped out of the apartment. “We’re going to the vet, alright? You’ll be okay.”

HakYeon whined weakly, and TaekWoon hurried his steps.

TaekWoon was half-relieved, half-concerned when, upon nearing the vet’s clinic, he saw the back of MinWoo jauntily walking away, no white coat, bag in hand.

“MinWoo!” TaekWoon shouted.

That got the vet to stop. The man turned, spotted the two, had the intention to greet, but processed TaekWoon’s anxiety-ridden face, rushing forward to meet the two halfway.

“What’s wrong? What happened?” MinWoo launched into full vet mode, checking HakYeon in different spots. TaekWoon forgot he had to crouch a bit so the hybrid would be in reach of the shorter male.

“I don’t know,” TaekWoon replied. “I woke up this morning, and it had a fever, and when I got back from work earlier, the fever had gotten worse.”

MinWoo continued his assessment, pulling the blanket back a few times. When he lightly pressed at the base of one of the dog ears, HakYeon whined louder and burrowed deeper into TaekWoon’s neck.

“Aha~” MinWoo nodded. “I see. Follow me.”

They swiftly made their way into the clinic. It was after hours, so there was no one in the waiting room, and a girl TaekWoon didn’t recognize behind the receptionist’s desk. She calmly regarded the three as they made their way through the side door, TaekWoon closely following MinWoo to room four. There was another person in there – male, this time – wiping down the counters. He looked up when the three entered.

MinWoo called to the person as he helped TaekWoon set HakYeon onto the table. “KiHyun-ah, get me 3 of APAP IM from the fridge in room eight.”

“Yes, sir!” The guy was out in a flash.

Grinning, MinWoo pulled out a small flashlight. “Lucky day for him. He also lives with a hybrid. This will be a learning experience.”

TaekWoon was only slightly paying attention. “He does?”

“Yup. Rabbit girl. Now, let’s see…”

MinWoo nosed around, more focused on HakYeon’s left ear. He shined the light inside, gently prodded at the base again, checked the other ear, prodded at that one, too.

“Ear infection,” he finally said. “Only in the left ear, though. It didn’t spread to the right. He’ll be fine. I don’t have any antibiotics on hand at the moment, but I can rush order them for tomorrow. For now, we’re just gonna give him a shot for the fever and inflammation.”

Uh oh. TaekWoon was indifferent about shots, but… He looked over at HakYeon, but the hybrid was too dazed to process what the vet was saying. The other guy, KiHyun, reappeared, the dreaded syringe in gloved hand. He passed it ceremoniously to MinWoo who had donned latex gloves of his own.

“Now then, hold him for me.”

No one moved for a second. TaekWoon stared. “Who, me?”

“Yup. Bear hug him. He’ll probably jump.”

HakYeon perked at the sound of “hug” and instantly held out its arms like a little kid. TaekWoon still didn’t move. “What do you mean, bear hug? Where are you giving him the shot?”

MinWoo cocked his head in innocent confusion. “It’s a muscle injection. You’ve had those before, right?”

“Wait, _what_?! They get… those, too?!”

“Sure do. Now, hold him for me.”

TaekWoon hesitated just a bit before he held out his arms, as well. HakYeon slid off the table and collapsed against TaekWoon in relief, eyes still dazed. MinWoo was giving instructions to the eager assistant, but TaekWoon paid no attention to what they were talking about.

True to the vet’s words, HakYeon jumped violently and accompanied it with a sharp yelp. It was quickly followed by a loud snarl, HakYeon twisting in TaekWoon’s arms to get at the vet and assistant.

“Hey, stop that!” TaekWoon commanded, tightening his grip around HakYeon’s midsection to keep it from eating wide-eyed KiHyun.

MinWoo, of course, was unfazed. “Nice! Very good. Now then, like I said, I’ll order the meds for you for tomorrow, so you can swing by after work. Just make sure he stays in bed and drinks plenty of water.”

“Is it… wrong of me… to think of them as human?” TaekWoon asked the next day, just as MinWoo handed him a plastic bag. “Hybrids, I mean…”

MinWoo raised his eyebrows, but then an elfish grin graced his face. “Why do you ask?”

Instantly surly, TaekWoon just shook his head. “No, I was just… It’s something I thought of at one point.”

“Hmmm.” MinWoo crossed his arms and pondered for a bit. “Well, in reverse, do you think it’s wrong to them as animals? We can argue they sometimes act more like animals than humans, but at the same time, they also act more like humans than animals. They are biped, after all.” Seeing how TaekWoon wasn’t satisfied, MinWoo continued. “If you want to speak physiologically, in a sense, their bodies and functions, make up and whatnot, would be closer to their animal counterparts. Of course, at the same time, there are some aspects that are closer to human physiology. In regards to medicine, there are infinitely more restrictions on what they can and can’t do. In regards to social development… well, I know you already know about that.

“In the end, hybrids are a fancy mystery that the human race has yet to understand. Should you have taken him to a human hospital rather than here when you first discovered him? In my opinion, certainly not. He would have become a case study rather than a friend. But does it make you a lesser being for considering HakYeon an animal before a human? Absolutely not.”

TaekWoon still didn’t answer. MinWoo just smiled and patted him on the shoulder. “The directions are in the bag. Make sure he finishes it. Fight him, if you have to.”

Rounding the corner to his apartment, later than he normally would be on his way home, TaekWoon glanced up out of habit and saw that the window was open, and HakYeon was leaning over the window sill, swaddled in a blanket and glaring disdainfully down at TaekWoon. The hybrid slid back inside as TaekWoon entered the apartment, crossing over and plopping itself on the floor, still glaring.

“What? You can’t be mad at me for going to the vet. Drugs to make you feel better.”

The fever had gone down significantly, but HakYeon was still flushed and rather slow. It still pouted up at TaekWoon as he read through the instructions. So that’s what MinWoo meant when he mentioned fighting.

Seven days of ear drops was going to be a nuisance. HakYeon was instantly trying to wriggle away to shake the liquid out. TaekWoon clamped his hand down on the ear, forgetting that it was obviously still painful when HakYeon yelped.

“Sorry! Sorry! Be good. You just have to hold it for thirty seconds, alright?”

Glare. But HakYeon remained still as TaekWoon silently counted to himself. When TaekWoon removed his hand, HakYeon indignantly shook its head, flicking beads of the ear drops on TaekWoon’s face. But it let up the fussy act and leaned over to lay in TaekWoon’s lap.

TaekWoon froze at first, but then he slowly lifted his hand and settled it between HakYeon’s ears, conceding to scratch at the base of one ear. HakYeon hummed, the tail thumping on the ground.

TaekWoon let HakYeon stay like that until it… until he drifted off to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Will TaekWoon ever get to wake up on his own over the weekend anymore?

This time, it was a feeling that roused him from his slumber. A feeling of being watched. Intensely. He slowly opened one eye, his vision focusing with difficulty.

Two pairs of eyes. One pair dark but twinkling with delight. The other pair sleepy but still gazing with interest.

TaekWoon groaned and rolled over, burying his face in his pillow, but his groan was accented with a loud _OOF_ from HakYeon pouncing on his back.

“Uwah, hyung,” came the voice of a giant idiot who was somehow in his apartment. “You could probably sleep through a typhoon even if it carried you all the way to Australia.”

“Get out of my apartment,” TaekWoon grumbled.

SangHyuk ignored him. “I rang your doorbell a few times, but HakYeon opened the door. Then him and WonShik started wrestling around in the living room. I’m seriously surprised you didn’t hear any of that.”

TaekWoon grunted, losing air from the weight of HakYeon squishing him into the mattress. He quickly turned over to throw HakYeon onto the bed. Simply squealing in delight, HakYeon rolled off but jumped to his feet to dart out of the room, WonShik following close behind.

“Didn’t you say you got promoted? We came to celebrate.”

TaekWoon considered for the slightest bit. “Han SangHyuk. I, literally, was just told I was getting promoted two days ago. My pay raise probably won’t occur for another two pay periods, and just because I’m getting a pay raise doesn’t mean I’m suddenly a millionaire. The raise wasn’t anything more than 1,000 won, either. Just because I just got promoted doesn’t mean I suddenly have copious amounts of money.”

“Oh… Well… We’re already here, so let’s celebrate!”

TaekWoon grunted as he threw the blanket over his head. He could hear as SangHyuk sighed and flopped to the floor just as the sound of shuffling feet entered the room. Curses and damnation, he could smell coffee. Cautiously, he peeked out from the safety of the blanket. Of course. HakYeon was at the side of his bed with a fresh mug of coffee held out to his face, WonShik looming over HakYeon’s shoulder and sniffing with interest.

TaekWoon rolled over again so he could properly glare at HakYeon. “I hate you.”

The appropriate response was a sunshine smile and tail wagging vigorously enough to smack WonShik in the legs and SangHyuk in the face. TaekWoon had only just gripped the handle of the mug before HakYeon was dashing out of the room again, suddenly reappearing in a flash with a second mug for WonShik and water in a glass for SangHyuk, the momentum of HakYeon screeching to a halt pulling some water over the lip.

“HakYeon, are you making a mess in my bedroom?” TaekWoon growled.

The hybrid quickly jittered his head back and forth. He noticed the wet spot on the carpet, though, and quickly stomped on the offending area with his foot to cover any evidence. Apparently, HakYeon must have helped himself to an unhealthy amount of coffee before everyone else.

This is how the four ended up spending the day exhausting TaekWoon’s money. Normally, that would be unforgiveable, but HakYeon was ecstatic at finally being well from the stupid ear infection and being able to play with WonShik again, so TaekWoon begrudgingly let it slide. He restricted the amount of food SangHyuk ordered, though.

Even though his pay raise hadn’t gone into effect just yet, the seasons were changing, so the four found themselves perusing the dark shop in Myungdong after lunch. SangHyuk bantered with the shop owner as TaekWoon watched HakYeon skip through the aisles, WonShik slowly looking around for anything that would catch his eye.

TaekWoon sidled up to the two humans who were loitering at the register counter. The half-dogs were taking turns passing different hats to each other, haphazardly throwing them back on the hooks when they got too bored with the ones in their hands; they were probably replacing them in the wrong spot, but that isn’t TaekWoon’s responsibility.

“It’s been a while, huh?” the sales clerk chirped. TaekWoon chanced a glance at the clerk’s nametag. YookDuk, it said. What the heck. “How has he been? He looks like he’s become even more of a handful.”

TaekWoon scoffed. “That’s an understatement. Whatever. He hasn’t killed me or anything, so I don’t care. Yah, SangHyuk, I noticed it earlier, but what the heck is WonShik wearing?”

SangHyuk scanned the room to find WonShik, stared for a bit, then looked questioningly at TaekWoon. “Clothes…? And his collar?”

“A _collar_? _Why_?”

“Why not? He says he likes wearing it whenever he goes out of my apartment. Said it makes him feel better.”

“A _collar_ ,” TaekWoon repeated. “That’s weird.”

“What’s weird about it?” SangHyuk’s eyes grew wide. “Yah! Don’t be thinking of weird things, hyung! … Unless you’re that type of person…”

“What the hell kind of person are you thinking of?!” TaekWoon exploded, the giant idiot and the idiot clerk bursting into laughter. “It’s just weird to me, alright?”

Of course HakYeon would choose that moment to prance up to TaekWoon, eagerly holding out a hideous-looking collar with too much bedazzle and shine.

“Absolutely not!” TaekWoon roared, catching even WonShik’s attention on the other side of the store. “Put it back!”

He minutely regretted his explosive reaction when HakYeon wilted sadly, turning around obediently. The scalding, judging looks from SangHyuk and “YookDuk” added to his remorse.

TaekWoon coughed. “It would be better if it was red, anyway…”

Pointed dog ears perked up, and HakYeon was off like a shot, returning instantly with a different style.

“Quit picking up the obnoxious ones!”

“You know, the collars also come as a set,” YookDuk added helpfully as he scanned the barcodes of the clothes on the counter. The barcode that was tagged on HakYeon’s collar had been taken off, HakYeon proudly displaying his new accessory to WonShik who only looked on with vague interest. “We have a matching wristband in the event the human companion would be privy to a couples look.”

“What day would you like for me to set your store on fire?” TaekWoon replied menacingly.

“Aw, come on, hyung!” SangHyuk piped up. He held out his hand where the wrist was adorned with a band that looked rather similar to the thing around the floppy-eared hybrid’s neck. “Look, I even have one with WonShik!”

“As if I want to be anything like you.” There was no way he would get anything obnoxious red around his wrist – since obnoxious red featuring black stitching was the only thing he would settle for among the nonsense HakYeon kept bringing him.

SangHyuk eagerly elected to help clasp the black-with-red-stitching band around TaekWoon’s wrist before they left the shop. Even though he was obviously being a sourpuss, TaekWoon relented at the bright look on HakYeon’s face when he held up his hand to look at it. He quickly followed it up with a knuckle into HakYeon’s midsection to get that dumb smile to disappear.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Jung TaekWoon. I’m moving to this department starting today.”

TaekWoon’s low bow could have gotten his shirt collar caught on a door handle. The department head who stood before him looked rather unimpressed, frowning at the courtesy.

“You don’t have to be so uptight,” he replied. “We’re way too chill on this floor. Here, straighten up.” He offered his hand. “My name is Lee JaeHwan. I’m your direct supervisor, so I get to demote you if you mess up.”

TaekWoon faltered a bit as he reached out to shake JaeHwan’s hand. “Errr… right. Nice to meet you.”

JaeHwan, however, simply smiled brightly. “Likewise. I must ask you, though…” With TaekWoon’s hand still in his grasp, he rotated their hands so the top of TaekWoon’s hand was exposed. “This bracelet… Where did you get it?”

 _Oh God._ He had forgotten to take it off that morning. TaekWoon could feel a slight blush creeping to the tips of his ears. “Ah… This? It’s, uh… just something I bought when I was out shopping the other day…”

A knowing smirk. “Did you happen to be shopping, maybe, at Myungdong?”

“Eh? Er, maybe, but…”

“How funny.” JaeHwan held up his other hand, and adorning his wrist was a wristband that seemed almost similar in style. The color was different, obviously, a cotton-candy pink. “I have one just like it.”

“Eh?! Do you…”

“I do!” JaeHwan finally released TaekWoon’s hand as he quickly whipped out his phone, swiping a few times before shoving the screen in TaekWoon’s face. “Cat boy! Isn’t he cute?!”

The face on the screen looked like the cat boy was not at all happy about being called cute nor being displayed so freely to a stranger. TaekWoon tried to look away from the deep scowl on the screen. “Y-yeah… Um… Where's my desk?”

“Ah, right. This way. Hey! We should make a play date for our kids! Do you do anything over the weekend?”

 This is how TaekWoon and HakYeon ended up loitering at the park near TaekWoon’s apartment the following weekend. HakYeon contented himself with ambling around, carefree, since TaekWoon parked himself on a bench. It took some number of minutes of HakYeon being constantly distracted by first a butterfly, then a piece of trash rolling with the light breeze, then the same butterfly, then someone shouting on the other side of the park, for TaekWoon to pull out his phone and–

_Click._

HakYeon spun around to look at TaekWoon, ears pointing straight up. TaekWoon blinked then pressed the shutter button again.

_Click._

HakYeon leapt at TaekWoon. “What was that?”

“I was taking a picture,” TaekWoon replied.

Much to his supervisor’s dismay, TaekWoon had absolutely no pictures of HakYeon to share, contrary to the storage-depleted memory card of JaeHwan’s catboy. He never really thought about it; TaekWoon wasn't exactly the type to take pictures of much, in general.

“I wanna see!”

HakYeon almost crushed TaekWoon as he tried to look at TaekWoon’s phone. His grabby hands abruptly stopped, and HakYeon’s ears perked straight up again, completely serious, his attention drawn elsewhere. It was so sudden, TaekWoon was almost alarmed.

“What is it?” he asked warily.

“There’s…” HakYeon didn’t finish his sentence, jumping to his feet in an instant.

But TaekWoon had a pretty good idea about what grabbed HakYeon’s attention. “Don’t go running off. That’s probably my supervisor and his hybrid.”

“Yeah!” HakYeon’s eyes glittered. “Yeah! They’re coming from over there!”

TaekWoon turned his gaze in the direction HakYeon was looking, but the only people nearby were definitely no one he knew. Anyone else that way was a speck in the distance.

“Calm down. They’ll be here soon. SangHyuk said he and WonShik are almost here, too.”

“Oooh!!! WonShikkie!!!”

“HakYeon, stay here.”

It was an excruciating five minutes for HakYeon, having to stay in one place as this new friend and other new friend came within waving distance. TaekWoon was just starting to stand as JaeHwan – looking very different in civilian clothes – raised a hand as a greeting when HakYeon was bolting forward to the slight figure trailing behind JaeHwan. Groaning, TaekWoon swiftly followed suit.

“Sorry,” he immediately apologized. “Uh, this is HakYeon, and he’s way too easily excitable. HakYeon!”

Their introduction was very different from when HakYeon met WonShik. The catboy, looking very annoyed and harassed, dodged away from HakYeon and tried to keep JaeHwan between them. HakYeon found the game entertaining and circled around to follow, stopping short from TaekWoon yanking him back by the arm. His tail still swished energetically as he looked with bright eyes from JaeHwan to the hybrid.

JaeHwan merely laughed. “He’s cute, though. A fitting contrast for you. And this is HongBin. Much like the cat stereotype, he’s rather leery of strangers at first, but he’s nice after he figures you out.”

The catboy scowled from behind JaeHwan’s shoulder, not showing any sign of warming up to the two. His tail flicked with agitation, and he pointedly decided to glare in a different direction.

“I actually called another one of my friends to join the… uh, play date,” TaekWoon admitted. “He’s a university student, but he also lives with a hybrid. I hope that’s okay…”

“Wow, really? Yeah, that’s perfectly fine. The more, the merrier.”

“His hybrid is a dogboy, too, and he and HakYeon get along really well, so I hope they don’t end up annoying HongBin too much – ”

With perfect timing, HakYeon was gone without a trace, HongBin recoiling backwards from the sudden movement. But TaekWoon already knew before he looked over that HakYeon was bear hugging the floppy-eared hybrid, WonShik groaning in protest. SangHyuk, lagging behind, had his phone in hand but, spotting the crowd, ended up slipping it back into his pocket. He trotted forward, giving a quick bow in JaeHwan’s direction.

“Ah, this is Han SangHyuk,” TaekWoon said, gesturing at the kid. “This is my new supervisor, Lee JaeHwan. And behind him is HongBin.”

JaeHwan offered his hand as HongBin continued to scowl, the scowl becoming more prominent when HakYeon tugged WonShik over. WonShik looked over with interest, but HakYeon pulled him back and sagely wiggled a finger, keen on sharing the recently-attained How to Deal with Moody Catboy knowledge, himself. Not at all fond of the dogboy attention, HongBin made an attempt to slink away. However, all restraint dissolved from HakYeon as he pursued the catboy’s attempt to escape which made HongBin break into a run, made HakYeon run after him even faster, and made WonShik give chase because why not. The three ran along the path at first but dodged into the trees.

“Yah, HakYeon!!” TaekWoon felt like he may as well have been taking care of a kindergartener what with having to shout after him all the time.

“Eh, they’ll be fine,” JaeHwan interjected airily. “This is actually pretty interesting for me. It’s been a while since I’ve seen this many hybrids in one place.”

SangHyuk nodded. “Besides WonShik, I’ve only ever seen HakYeon, though.”

“I was wondering about that,” TaekWoon spoke up. “I thought hybrids were a rare sight these days, but in a few months, I’ve heard of at least four in this general area alone. Are there more than we thought?”

JaeHwan sighed, crossing his arms. “Well, here’s the thing. Back in the olden days, they were spread pretty evenly around the world, never really emigrating to one place or another and just maintaining their population wherever they were. But at some point, I’d say, around 50-ish years ago, humans started moving them around, and their existence became more concentrated around Europe. This was because of the sudden interest in hybrid competitions of sorts.

“Because most hybrids weren't able to attain any sort of certification what with not being able to read, write, and properly communicate and such, they weren’t able to do anything for society, so that’s when people started to assume ownership over them and use them for status and gain. If you had a hybrid, you were seen as authoritative, a good leader or commander. If the hybrid was attractive, they were swept off to the fashion industry to be famished models. If the hybrid was strong, they were thrown into hybrid fights, gladiator-style. Thankfully, groups of people around the world started to speak out against those practices, demanding humanity. It still took a few years, but now hybrids don’t have to go through that sort of treatment.”

“It still happens, though,” TaekWoon added. “HakYeon told me how he was involved with hybrid fights before.”

SangHyuk’s eyebrows shot up, but JaeHwan nodded. “People will find ways to make money, even if it is illegal. I found HongBin in a different situation. He had just been discarded by who knows what industry and was being sold off for breeding. The organization was busted, the hybrids in captivity ran free, and I found HongBin wandering around the streets of Hong Kong.”

“How did he end up following you?” SangHyuk asked.

Looking down in thought, JaeHwan eventually admitted, “That's a good question. Maybe it’s just my charm.” At that, he suddenly flashed a huge, cheesy grin, looking to the other two for affirmation.

Adamantly disregarding such behavior from his work superior, TaekWoon looked back in the direction where the hybrids had disappeared. “Maybe we should follow after them.”

JaeHwan backpedaled quickly and straightened up. “Yeah.”

The ease between the three humans slowly ebbed away with each step they took, each step taking them further into the trees and bringing the sun closer to the horizon. They couldn’t rely on following tracks since the hybrids could still wear human shoes, were wearing human shoes, and there were human shoe prints everywhere. Their names were frequently called, but the only reply came from the birds and insects.

“How far did they go…?” SangHyuk muttered.

TaekWoon sighed, having shouted HakYeon’s name for the third time that minute. Already, their surroundings had turned to the hazy, post-sunset blue. It wouldn’t be long before everything around them would be completely dark. Then how could they possibly find the hybrids?

A sudden, piercing yelp answered that question, followed by faint shouts and very familiar snarling that made TaekWoon’s blood turn to ice.

“That’s…” JaeHwan’s eyes widened.

SangHyuk spun around. “That was WonShik!”

“This way!!”

They plunged through the trees, following the noise, TaekWoon pushing to the lead. His breath rattled in his ears, and he tried to focus on which direction the growling was coming from. Turn here, more right, just ahead…

The sudden drop caused all three to stumble and almost lose their footing, slipping on grass and dead leaves. They were forced to a halt from the spectacle before them.

There were four men, strangers, all fanned out and crouched, waiting to lunge. One had his hand up to his face, pinching his nose to keep blood from getting everywhere. They all looked unfriendly, not the type one would call up for a casual outing. Then there were TaekWoon, SangHyuk, and JaeHwan, covered in leaves, almost dogpiled on each other, staring dumbly.

Between the groups was HakYeon, low in a menacing crouch with dark ears pressed back, holding WonShik around the middle with WonShik hanging limp like a doll, paralyzed from a snare pole looped around his neck. HakYeon kept a steady growl aimed at the strange men even as his ears twitched at TaekWoon and the others’ loud arrival.

“H-HakYeon…” TaekWoon stumbled to the hybrid’s side. “What’s going on…?”

He didn’t reply, kept his eyes trained on the strange men. WonShik, however, wriggled out of his grasp at the sight of SangHyuk, and HakYeon released him without looking away or losing his stance. The men looked wary, uncomfortable with the idea of the random newcomers. When one of them moved the slightest bit, HakYeon swiftly shifted to shield TaekWoon. It seemed the men weren’t interested in any further confrontation, though, as they quickly turned around to run through the trees, away from the group.

“HakYeon…” The hybrid still didn’t move, focused on the backs disappearing in the darkness. “HakYeon, come on.”

One ear lifted in TaekWoon’s direction, and HakYeon finally tore his gaze away to look TaekWoon in the eye, reaching a hand up to latch on to TaekWoon’s shirt, his brow furrowed in concern. His hand was shaking the slightest bit.

TaekWoon brought his own hand up to rest atop HakYeon’s head. “Good job, puppy. I don’t know what just happened, but you did well.”

The tail did a half-wag, and HakYeon suddenly remembered WonShik. He spun around, TaekWoon following suit, and they found that SangHyuk and JaeHwan had successfully removed the noose from around WonShik’s neck, the floppy-eared hybrid’s face pressed into SangHyuk’s shoulder. Whining, HakYeon edged towards WonShik, but WonShik, glancing up in fear, cowered away, retreating to hiding between SangHyuk’s shoulder blades. HakYeon was dumbfounded by the reaction, and he looked to TaekWoon for an answer.

“Wait…” JaeHwan suddenly broke the silence. “Where’s HongBin?”

Ah. They’d forgotten all about the moody catboy in the confusion. HakYeon stared blankly for a second, but then his eyes lit up, and he trotted off, nose in the air and scanning the trees. By the time they were able to find HongBin, it was already well into nighttime, and it took a while before they realized HongBin was high in the dark branches of a tree that HakYeon circled.

It took quite a bit of coaxing from everyone to get HongBin to finally come down, and as soon as his feet touched the earth, HakYeon moved forward. HongBin was in an even fouler mood – with obvious thanks to whatever ordeal had occurred – and all it took was a poisonous glare for HakYeon to shrink away and mope behind TaekWoon, ears and tail dipped low.

“I don’t know what all this was about,” JaeHwan sighed, “but I think it’s time to go home.”

“Yeah…” SangHyuk agreed, absentmindedly patting WonShik on the head.

They trekked forward in silence, GPS glowing on phone screens to guide them out of the park. It didn’t seem to take as long getting back out of the trees, and the three and respective hybrids parted ways as they reached the sidewalk at the edge of civilization.

Even after passing through the door to TaekWoon’s apartment, the two were still silent, TaekWoon lost in his thoughts. As he crossed through the living room, he turned to see HakYeon watching him intently. Startled, HakYeon stopped in his tracks, ears and tail drooping even lower.

“Yah…” TaekWoon turned to walk back to HakYeon, but the hybrid shrunk on himself like he knew he was about to get a scolding. “Why are you acting like this again?”

HakYeon wrung his hands together. “I… It was… the same men as before…”

At first, TaekWoon wasn’t following what HakYeon was talking about. But he suddenly realized, with goosebumps rising on his skin, “You mean…”

HakYeon nodded. “The same men who stole me before. They must have seen me, and it’s my fault they chased us…”

“What? No. No, it’s not your fault.”

“But WonShikkie…”

HakYeon seriously looked as if he was about to cry. TaekWoon rested his hand on HakYeon’s head again, ruffling his hair for good measure. “Hey, don’t worry about it, okay? SangHyuk texted me earlier saying WonShik is alright. The thing on his neck didn’t hurt him too badly. He was just scared since nothing like that had ever happened to him before.”

“But – ”

“No more buts. It’s not your fault, and no one is mad at you. Now let’s go to bed.”

By the time TaekWoon stepped out of the shower, HakYeon was back to his normal self, sprawled on his side of the bed. The tail thumped a few times as TaekWoon collapsed on his own side, heaving out a deep sigh.

“Still…” he muttered, “this was definitely a crazy day.”

HakYeon hummed, already dozing off. TaekWoon turned his head. The hybrid’s face was content, cheek mashed into the pillow. The blaring red collar caught his attention.

“Hey…” HakYeon’s ears twitched. “Do you seriously like wearing that thing? The collar?”

“Mhmm. It’s kinda… like an old blanket. It just feels good…”

TaekWoon stared. It could’ve just been sleep talk. Or not. Either way, he changed his mind about taking his own wristband off for the night.

* * *

“Noooooooooooooo!!”

“HakYeon, _come on_.”

“Noooooooooooooo!! I don’t wanna go!!”

“HakYeon, you’re sick again. You have a fever. If you want to get better – ”

“I don’t wanna gooooooo!!”

TaekWoon let out an exasperated sigh and rubbed his forehead, irritated. When he woke up that morning, it was the same thing as before: mild heat radiating from the body beside him. But when he reached up to feel HakYeon’s forehead, the touch woke the hybrid up, and HakYeon immediately leapt from the bed and dove into the closet, mashing himself as far into a corner as he could. TaekWoon had been trying to coax him out from behind his clothes for almost thirty minutes.

He looked over at the digital clock on his nightstand. He was going to be late for work if he didn’t leave soon. He was sure he could probably ask JaeHwan to let him come in late in consideration of HakYeon, but he didn’t want to have to go that route, especially since he was still new to the department.

Sighing again, TaekWoon crouched so he could see HakYeon’s pouting face. “Alright, look. I have to go to work soon, but you need medicine. At least let me see you so I can tell MinWoo what’s wrong so he can give you the right stuff. And I’ll pick it up on my way home so you don’t have to go there. Deal?” HakYeon eyed him suspiciously. “HakYeon, come on. I won’t even have time to take you to the vet because I have to go to work.”

It was a few seconds before HakYeon cautiously, slowly, slid out from beneath TaekWoon’s shirts. He didn’t come out any farther, though, still watching TaekWoon with a shoulder hidden in the clothes.

MinWoo burst out laughing over the phone. TaekWoon sighed. “You should know how hard it is to get a pet out from hiding from the vet. Imagine a hybrid. Imagine _this_ hybrid.”

“I know, I know,” MinWoo wheezed. The vet gave him a quick rundown of various things to check. It didn’t seem to be another ear infection, at least. Seemingly satisfied, MinWoo directed TaekWoon to swing by the clinic on his way home. “Obviously, it would’ve been better if I could see him in person, but I’d probably have a harder time getting him out of hiding than you did.”

HakYeon had already scuttled back into the safety of the clothes. After he hung up, TaekWoon crouched again. “Don’t stay there the whole day. Stay in bed, and eat something warm. I’ll be back later.”

HakYeon snorted, but his tail thumped a few times against the ground.

“Eh? He’s sick? Did he go out playing and catch something?”

JaeHwan was leaning casually against TaekWoon’s desk, playing on his phone, as TaekWoon carefully scrutinized the pamphlet of papers in his hands. It was a new program, so of course he would need to read the details.

“I don’t know,” TaekWoon replied half-heartedly. “We always go out to walk around the park or the shops in the evening, so who knows what could’ve been floating around there? The last time he got sick, it was an ear infection, and I don’t even remember what we did that day.”

“Aw, poor kid. What did you do before? Let him ride it out?”

“No, there’s this vet I see whose clinic is close to my apartment. He gave drugs. Actually, he shot him up first.”

JaeHwan whistled. “I bet that was a party. HongBin already hates strangers, so I couldn’t even imagine trying to get him to see a vet. Good thing he doesn’t get sick. Ah.” JaeHwan finally looked up from his phone where a picture of a sleepy and disgruntled HongBin was displayed. “Wait. What are you gonna do for the trip, then?”

That stopped TaekWoon. He looked up questioningly at JaeHwan. “What trip?”

“The trip. _The_ trip. Ah!” The supervisor smacked his head dramatically. “You’re new here! Of course, you don’t know! Our whole department goes on a quarterly trip to Hong Kong to confer with our sister company. All expenses paid except for personal shenanigans. Five-day vacation.”

“What? When is this? Am I required to go?”

“In two weeks. Oddly enough, they really want the rookies to go, more than anyone else. Something about brainwashing them for their greedy corporate desires. Yeah… I don’t know if Big Kang will let you off, especially if you are one-week new…”

Shoot. TaekWoon contemplated swiftly. “Two weeks… Well, hopefully whatever the vet gives HakYeon won’t have to be given for more than two weeks. But what do you do with HongBin when you go on these business trips?”

“Oh,” JaeHwan airily waved his hand, “I have two other roommates, and HongBin’s grown to tolerate them, so they look after him while I’m gone. I guess you don’t have a roommate?”

“Ah, no… I’m really sorry,” MinWoo winced. “As much as I’d like to help, like I said before, there’s really no space for him here or at my house. Besides, did you forget what HakYeon did this morning just at the mere thought of coming here?”

“Ah… right…”

Asking the vet: fail. TaekWoon still thanked him for the bag of contraband, MinWoo waving off TaekWoon when the youth vaguely asked about the payment. “Don’t worry about it. That was a favor from one of my friends, so now I’m passing the favor down to you.”

Well, that certainly wouldn’t be a burden later on. After the third try of attempting to pay MinWoo, TaekWoon trotted off to his home. Hopefully, HakYeon wouldn’t be in a state like he was the last time.

Fortunate. HakYeon was cocooned in TaekWoon’s blanket and grumbled when TaekWoon knelt next to the bed beside him, scooting across the mattress so he could lay closer to TaekWoon. The fever had stayed about the same – maybe a little less (maybe TaekWoon should invest in a thermometer) – and the back side of the blanket rippled from the tail wiggling inside. When TaekWoon stood to fix dinner, the hybrid caterpillar wobbled after him and flopped to the sofa so he could watch his human in the kitchen. The sight made TaekWoon chuckle to himself, vague memories bubbling up, and he picked up his phone to call SangHyuk.

The course of the medication was only for three days, so after two weeks went by, SangHyuk had only barely cracked the door open when HakYeon burst through and rushed inside.

“Wow, was he even sick?” SangHyuk commented as HakYeon leapt on WonShik, the second hybrid squawking in surprise from being so rudely awakened from his nap.

“I wonder if he fakes it, sometimes,” TaekWoon admitted, hurriedly dumping a bag in SangHyuk’s arms. “Just my luck that the subway would shut down the closest exits to my apartment for maintenance. I’m late. So, uh… You don’t need any reminders on how to deal with him. If he’s too hyper, just let him run around outside.”

“I got it, hyung. I got it. Take a taxi to the airport.”

“Oh, he doesn’t eat gopchang, so eat something else for dinner.”

“Eh?!”

“HakYeon, don’t be a nuisance and be good – ” TaekWoon stopped upon seeing HakYeon pinning WonShik to the ground with a floppy ear in his mouth. “You are definitely not being good right now. I’ll be back in a few days, alright? Don’t cause trouble.”

The last thing TaekWoon saw as the door closed behind him was the unblinking, confused expression on HakYeon’s face, but the idea of being late to this sudden “business” trip overrode everything in his mind, so he hustled his way back down to the sidewalk and hailed the first taxi he saw. He arrived with time to spare, though, grateful that the taxi driver seemed to be mindful of his frazzled state. JaeHwan cheerily greeted him on the other side of customs.

TaekWoon didn’t even think of looking at his phone until it was time to turn it off for the flight. Apparently, SangHyuk had sent a picture, a selca, of himself and the two hybrids looking up at the camera. WonShik looked vaguely interested, draped over a HakYeon who looked utterly perplexed. The picture made TaekWoon feel the slightest bit regretful about his hasty departure. He thought he’d explained the trip to HakYeon well enough, making sure he understood the idea of staying with SangHyuk and WonShik for five days and four nights. By himself, without TaekWoon. He’d definitely text back after they landed.

Except, as soon as they landed, he was swept up with the rest of the group, and they were immediately herded onto an airport bus and rumbled off to whatever hotel they were to stay. En route, TaekWoon realized his phone service was not suited up for international travel. He really wanted to check in with SangHyuk, but he also didn’t want to come home to wild roaming charges.

Of course, as soon as they arrived at the hotel, the group was ushered straight to the ground-floor restaurant for a team-building dinner; their luggage would be taken care of by a few employees who had unluckily pulled the short straw during the bus-ride lotto. JaeHwan promised to help TaekWoon with an international SIM card as soon as they got the chance.

“You really should have thought of this beforehand,” JaeHwan commented.

“I literally had two weeks to prepare,” TaekWoon grumbled. “And of those two weeks, half of it was spent trying to shove drugs down HakYeon’s throat. Not even hiding it in food would work. It was almost as difficult as the ear drops.”

JaeHwan laughed. “Right, you’re right.”

It certainly was no surprise that from sunup to sundown each day, the crew was back and forth from one conference to a joint lunch and on to another gathering followed by dinner plus round two of drinks, and then round three… And TaekWoon couldn’t handle alcohol very well, so as soon as they returned to their hotel, TaekWoon had completely passed out without even changing or washing up.

TaekWoon didn’t forget about HakYeon. Promise.

It wasn’t until the end of the third day when they finally had free time to wander through the city that the first thing TaekWoon did was bring JaeHwan to a phone store so they could reconnect TaekWoon to the outside world. The transaction got a bit confusing when TaekWoon found that JaeHwan’s Chinese was rather limited, and they ended up buying the wrong card at first, having to go back to return it for the proper one. Then, even after following the directions on how to activate it, the service still wouldn’t work, and TaekWoon spent even more agonizing hours at a group dinner, watching his new coworkers get drunk all over again. He made the wise decision to stay away from the alcohol this time, dodging their outstretched arms when they sang loudly for round two. Why didn’t he think of escaping by himself the first time?

He collapsed onto the bed back in his hotel room, glad noisy JaeHwan wasn’t around to be a nuisance. Trying the directions on activating the SIM card, it finally worked, and TaekWoon immediately made to send a message to SangHyuk when a notification from an online messenger popped up. From SangHyuk.

< hyung seriosuly you need to call or smth >

TaekWoon dialed SangHyuk’s number immediately. It rang a few times, but as soon as it was picked up, SangHyuk’s voice spoke quickly, “Hey, hyung! Hang on! I’ll call you back!” And he ended the call before TaekWoon could even get a word in.

TaekWoon stared at his phone screen, bewildered. But before the end-call display could fade out, it was replaced by another call, requesting his permission for a Facetime. His finger hovered over what he thought was the button to pick up the call; the technological dinosaur had never Facetimed before.

It worked, in any case. As soon as he pressed the button, there was a bit of a delay, and SangHyuk’s giant nose suddenly appeared on his phone screen.

“Oh! Finally!” SangHyuk exclaimed. “Hey, hyung! What took you so long? Wait, you’re not on screen.”

TaekWoon sat up. “What am I doing? What do you mean I’m not on screen?”

“You don’t see yourself in the corner? Look over here.” SangHyuk gestured to some general spot, and TaekWoon finally found a square in the bottom where only the crown of his hair was poking up from the bottom. He quickly swiveled the phone around until his face was properly centered. “Ah, there you are!”

“I’ve never done this sort of phone call,” TaekWoon admitted. “Anyway, I never had free time until today, and I couldn’t figure out how to get my phone to work until just now. What was your text about?”

“Ah, right. HakYeon! Look, HakYeon!” The screen bounced as SangHyuk traveled from the kitchen to the main room where the sofa was. TaekWoon spotted the two hybrids perched on the sofa, WonShik watching SangHyuk with ears perked in interest. HakYeon, however, was immobile, staring where the front door was. “HakYeon, look! It’s TaekWoonie-hyung! Hyung, say hi!”

He didn’t know why, but a flood of relief flew through TaekWoon at the sight of HakYeon. He called out a bit louder, “HakYeon! Hey!”

He saw the pointed ears twitch, and HakYeon spun around so quickly, it was a blur on the phone screen. What came next was even more of a blur. TaekWoon was only able to make out HakYeon lunging towards the phone before the camera spun away. Was that the ceiling? A table? It landed with a muffled thud, pointing upwards at the ceiling, and TaekWoon saw shadows swiftly moving back and forth, an odd rustling and thumping noise coming from the speaker with SangHyuk shouting beneath it all. Suddenly, the screen went dark, but the thumping noise continued, then more noises of heavy footsteps, a loud, sharp whine, and finally light showed on the screen again. It seemed, in the confusion, the camera had switched from the front to the back. TaekWoon watched as the phone switched back to the front camera. SangHyuk was holding the phone up high, angled down so TaekWoon could see that HakYeon was grappling with the giant kid, trying to get at the phone.

“It’s a phone call, HakYeon!” SangHyuk explained, a bit breathless. “TaekWoonie-hyung’s still in China, but you can see him here, see?”

“HakYeon,” TaekWoon chided softly, “don’t break Hyukkie’s phone, okay? How are you?”

The devastated expression on HakYeon’s face was crushing. TaekWoon realized what SangHyuk’s last message was about.

“It’s been terrible, hyung,” SangHyuk replied. “He was kind of alright the first night, but as soon as we woke up, he wouldn’t move and would just keep looking at the door even when WonShik tried to bother him. I think I’ve gotten him to eat maybe once.”

HakYeon whined again, such a sorrowful noise that SangHyuk slowly brought the phone back to eye level, and HakYeon reached out to grab at it.

“Ah-ah,” TaekWoon warned, and HakYeon froze. “Don’t steal SangHyuk’s phone. Be nice.”

HakYeon didn’t break his gaze from looking at TaekWoon’s face on the screen, but he didn’t make any further move to take the phone from SangHyuk’s hand, and the kid finally placed it in HakYeon’s hands. The hybrid flopped to the floor, his ears drooped, and he softly whined again. WonShik appeared behind him and rested his chin on HakYeon’s shoulder, watching TaekWoon’s face on the screen, as well.

TaekWoon smiled. “Don’t worry, puppy. I’m sorry. I’ll be back soon, okay? Just be good. And eat whatever SangHyuk is offering you, even if it looks inedible.”

SangHyuk made a noise of protest nearby, but HakYeon just continued to morosely stare back at TaekWoon. HakYeon looking so distraught at TaekWoon’s absence pulled at his heart, and he sincerely wished he could just stay on the phone with him, but the prepaid SIM card only had so many minutes, so TaekWoon had to bid farewell, repeatedly convincing a horrified HakYeon that he would definitely be back the day after tomorrow, and he finally, reluctantly ended the call.

Luckily, the next day was another whirlwind of activity that made the time go by swiftly. It also helped that TaekWoon was finally able to give live updates of his goings-on to SangHyuk who sent replies with pictures of his own time spent featuring the hybrids looking up into the camera, anticipation embedded deep in HakYeon’s eyes. TaekWoon really couldn’t wait to go home.

TaekWoon didn’t spare JaeHwan a second glance, only shouting over his shoulder that he’d see him at work the next week as he hustled his way out of the airport to catch the closest taxi. He was well out of breath by the time he was buzzing SangHyuk’s door, and a hybrid vaulting all of his weight onto TaekWoon before the door had properly opened almost broke the human’s legs from the force.

“Wow—Hey, HakYeon—Hang on!”

No chance. HakYeon had already wrapped his arms tightly around TaekWoon’s waist, pushing his nose into TaekWoon’s jacket, muffled whines emerging from beneath. The tail flailed back and forth with impressive strength.

WonShik bounded out as well, followed by SangHyuk, and the floppy-eared hybrid latched on to HakYeon’s back because why was his friend acting this way? SangHyuk heaved out a tired laugh. “Sorry, hyung. I don’t think I’ll be able to babysit for you, anymore.”

HakYeon’s motions stopped, his ears standing straight up, and he immediately pushed back to look incredulously into TaekWoon’s eyes. The accusation was clear: _You’re gonna do this to me AGAIN?!_

TaekWoon smiled and ruffled the hair between HakYeon’s ears. “I’m so not doing this again. JaeHwan and the corporate bigwigs can fight me. Let’s go home.”

HakYeon refused to let go of TaekWoon’s arm, all the way from SangHyuk’s apartment, in another taxi, and up the elevator to their apartment. Even after the door shut behind them, HakYeon still danced around TaekWoon as he dumped his suitcase to the side and moved to the bathroom to wash up. Just this once, he conceded with leaving the door open a crack to accommodate HakYeon’s separation anxiety. At least the hybrid didn’t take up peeking through the crack.

It was still early in the evening, but TaekWoon was exhausted as he flopped onto the bed. HakYeon wiggled his way across the space to press his nose into TaekWoon’s shirt, clearly invading into TaekWoon’s space, but TaekWoon didn’t bother objecting.

“Are you hungry?” he asked. “Do you want dinner?”

HakYeon shook his head. “Aren’t you tired?”

Next thing he knew, TaekWoon woke up. The heavy sound of night surrounded him, but the room light shone brightly. He glanced over to the digital clock and saw it was just past midnight. Whoops.

He turned his attention back to the bed. As usual, HakYeon and his over-warm self had pushed himself back to his own side of the bed but not without holding TaekWoon’s arms captive. Just as before, one hand was sandwiched between the pillow and HakYeon’s cheek. However, both of HakYeon’s hands held on to TaekWoon’s forearm, as if he was afraid of TaekWoon running away again. A small smile quirked up the corners of TaekWoon’s lips, and he reached out to push back HakYeon’s hair. A dog ear twitched, and HakYeon sighed as he pushed his cheek against TaekWoon’s palm.


	6. Chapter 6

Never in his life would TaekWoon have ever thought he would be living the way he was with a hybrid at his side. With HakYeon at his side. When he was previously making sub-par dinner for one, he was in the kitchen with a ladle in one hand and his phone in the other, trying to figure out some new recipe he saw online all while HakYeon watched on, his tail swishing impatiently. Surely he wouldn’t have allowed being kicked off of the sofa in the middle of a nap before, but because they had spent the weekend running around with SangHyuk, JaeHwan, WonShik, and HongBin, TaekWoon allowed it just because it was HakYeon with his face mashed into the cushions, the old throw haphazardly tossed over his shoulders.

There was no way he could have seen it coming.

The only hint TaekWoon might have seen was the fact that, the night before, HakYeon quietly shook his head when TaekWoon asked if he wanted to walk around. TaekWoon was somewhat surprised. It was Thursday, and that meant the crepe man would be around the corner. HakYeon always loved running out in the evening just to watch. Well, of course he would indulge in one, but he always lingered to watch as the cheery vendor made some for the neighborhood kids. Ever since the two had discovered the crepe man, HakYeon would make no exceptions on what they would be doing that day.

But TaekWoon always let HakYeon do whatever he wanted. “Are you hungry? Do you want dinner?”

Again, HakYeon shook his head. He looked lethargic, so they just retired to the bed early that day. Not even close to sleepy, TaekWoon sat up against the headboard to read random articles on his phone. HakYeon had shuffled himself to TaekWoon’s side of the bed again even if his over-warm self started to kick at the blanket. He just mashed his face into TaekWoon’s pillow, and TaekWoon, looking down with the slightest of concern, draped his arm around the hybrid’s shoulders.

HakYeon didn’t see him off the next morning, either. The hybrid just hummed when TaekWoon went to check on him right before he left. TaekWoon lightly touched his hand to HakYeon’s forehead, but his temperature seemed normal. HakYeon continued to doze with a twitch of his ear.

As he rounded the corner at the end of the day, TaekWoon was met with an odd sight. HakYeon was standing outside of the apartment building, and before him stood another hybrid. From far away, TaekWoon could tell it was a catgirl, copper-colored ears and a tail slowly swishing in irritation that vaguely reminded TaekWoon of HongBin.

Obviously, she sensed his approach and whipped her head around, eyes full of suspicion, and the poisonous disdain in them made TaekWoon halt in his tracks. HakYeon instantly caught her attention again, waving his hands and shaking his head. TaekWoon hoped he was translating the wordless conversation between the two properly, that HakYeon was telling the catgirl TaekWoon was a good human, and it seemed like he was right.

The catgirl looked over her shoulder to TaekWoon again but with noticeably less malice in her eyes. Her eyes scanned down and then back up to lock onto TaekWoon’s eyes, held them, then looked back at HakYeon. TaekWoon couldn’t see what sort of expression she was giving HakYeon, but it made the dogboy sag a bit, looking defeated for some reason. With one last glance back at the lone human, the catgirl turned to gracefully cross the street, swiftly slinking between two buildings and disappearing into the shadows. TaekWoon finally un-froze from his spot and approached where HakYeon still stood, staring blankly at nothing in front of him.

“Another hybrid, huh?” TaekWoon commented.

That broke HakYeon from his daze. He nodded. “She’s the one who got kidnapped with me.”

“Oh, that was her?” TaekWoon looked towards the direction she had disappeared, as if he might see her again.

“Yeah. She’s pretty, right? I told you.”

“Don’t you be cheeky again. Come on. Let’s go up. How long have you two been out here?”

They trailed to the elevator. “Not long. Just a little bit before you came.”

“What were you two talking about?”

The metal doors shut, but just as HakYeon was about to reply, the ascent of the elevator suddenly made HakYeon pitch forward. His hand shot out to seize TaekWoon’s shirt just as TaekWoon reached out to catch him. Even though TaekWoon solidly held on to both of HakYeon’s arms, he could feel the hybrid sway on his feet as the elevator continued to rise. Even when it slowed to a stop was HakYeon still unsteady.

“Hey, are you okay?” TaekWoon inspected him, noticing how HakYeon’s face had become paler. “You’ve been off since yesterday. Do you feel sick?”

They stopped off the elevator. “No… I’m…” HakYeon didn’t continue to let out a shaky breath.

“Lay down when we get in. I’ll call MinWoo.”

The apartment door shut behind them, and TaekWoon continued to hold up HakYeon until they were about halfway through the living room, TaekWoon releasing him so he could stride to the fridge to make something for dinner with his hand already in his pocket to pull out his phone. He’d only just gotten his other hand on the handle of the fridge when he heard a loud _whump_. Startled, he spun around.

He couldn’t see HakYeon.

“HakYeon?”

When he stepped around the counter bar, he spotted HakYeon on the floor, just short of the sofa. But the way he was laid on the floor was odd. Not as if he’d laid down to rest; more like a marionette that had its strings cut…

“HakYeon?”

In two long strides, TaekWoon was at HakYeon’s side, pressing a hand from the hybrid’s forehead to his cheek to his neck and finally to shake his shoulder. None of his touches stirred a response.

“HakYeon?! Yah, HakYeon, wake up!”

His breaths were shallow. Oddly, TaekWoon didn’t sense a fever of any sort. Why would he suddenly faint? Without sparing a thought to answer his questions, he hefted HakYeon onto his back and charged straight out the door.

He burst through the entrance of the clinic, anxiety rising when he didn’t see anyone in the waiting room or at the desk. “Hello? Is anyone here? MinWoo?”

It was a brief second before he heard footsteps shuffling in the hallway behind the door that led to the back. Then the door swung open, and, thankfully, MinWoo was there, and then he was rushing to TaekWoon’s side without any hesitation.

“What happened?” he asked immediately.

“I don’t know.” Why did TaekWoon never know? “He just collapsed after I got home from work.”

The vet indicated the long benches in the waiting room. “Lay him down here. Tell me what happened.”

Carefully, the two slowly lowered HakYeon onto the bench, and MinWoo immediately started to examine the hybrid, pulling back an eyelid and prodding here and there. TaekWoon was fretting, and he balled his hands into fists atop his knees.

“Ever since yesterday, I think, he’s been tired and didn’t want to go out or eat. He was already downstairs when I was coming home from work, but when we went up the elevator, he got dizzy and lost his balance, and then he fainted as soon as we got to my apartment.”

“Did you go anywhere different recently? Eat anything?”

“No… No, nothing. I don’t know what could’ve…”

While TaekWoon racked his brain to try and pinpoint anything, he jumped when HakYeon suddenly gasped out in pain. MinWoo retracted his hands, and TaekWoon jumped forward. HakYeon was stirring, eyes blinking slowly to take in his surroundings. He froze when he realized where he was, whining at the sight of the vet, and he tried to roll away. TaekWoon quickly caught his shoulders and held him still.

“No, HakYeon,” TaekWoon tried to chide as calmly as possible. “You fainted at home. Let MinWoo see you. Let us know what’s wrong, okay?” HakYeon whined again and gripped TaekWoon’s hands atop his shoulders with his own, looking up at TaekWoon half in fear, half in pain. “You’re okay, puppy. Tell me what’s wrong.”

HakYeon’s eyes suddenly squeezed shut and he groaned. Frantic, TaekWoon looked at MinWoo. The vet leaned forward again. “HakYeon, let me know where it hurts, okay?”

He moved from gently pressing various spots along HakYeon’s neck, behind and below his dog ears, against his cheekbones and temples. At one point, HakYeon stopped breathing, his brow furrowed and jaw clenched tightly, which made TaekWoon almost throw MinWoo back, but the older man stood back, one hand shielding his mouth as he processed his observations.

“I need to do another test.”

TaekWoon picked up HakYeon bridal-style this time and quickly followed MinWoo through the door to the back. They turned down a different way but were met halfway with the male employee. The hand off was difficult, HakYeon not wanting to let go of TaekWoon and TaekWoon feeling the same.

MinWoo grimaced apologetically. “Sorry, trained staff only beyond this point. I promise this won’t take long. Just wait in room four.”

Even though the door shut behind the three which left TaekWoon alone in the empty hallway, he still stood there without a word, trying to figure out what exactly was happening. His brain barely processed his body turning around to heavily trudge to room four at the opposite end of the hall. All of his thoughts whirred at hyper speed in his mind as he collapsed onto the sofa, his head in his hands.

All of his mental strength was spent chasing away the scarier thoughts, the things he ruled out immediately. Every time he tried to backtrack to think of what could have brought this on, dark thoughts would cloud over, and it was all he could do to listen to his voice of reason.

_What was taking so long?_ TaekWoon sat up to seek out the clock. When did they even arrive? How long had it been since they took HakYeon to that mystery room to do whatever test MinWoo was wanting to run? Would it even make sense to go out and check on them?

He didn’t have to. The door suddenly pushed open, and TaekWoon leapt to his feet at the sight of HakYeon leaning heavily on the girl named SoYeon as she slowly led him into the room. Relieved, HakYeon pushed off of SoYeon to collapse into TaekWoon’s arms with a sigh.

“Is he okay?” TaekWoon asked. “Were you able to see anything?”

Smiling kindly, SoYeon just opened a cabinet and retrieved a bottle that looked vaguely familiar. She jabbed a straw through the foil top and handed it to TaekWoon. “Mr. Lee is still checking the results. He’ll call you when he’s done. HakYeon can have this in the meantime. It has a small concentration of painkillers in there.”

“Right. Thanks…” TaekWoon tried to convince himself the smile she was giving off wasn’t forced.

As the door softly closed, TaekWoon tried to maneuver HakYeon so that he could sprawl across the sofa, but the hybrid only managed a feeble whine, and he pulled himself closer to lay his head across TaekWoon’s legs.

“What’s wrong, HakYeon?” TaekWoon murmured.

“It… It hurts,” HakYeon replied. “My head… It feels like someone is sitting on it.”

What could it be? TaekWoon pried one of HakYeon’s hands from gripping his pants leg and pushed the bottle into it. “Drink this. It should help, at least.”

HakYeon held it back suspiciously at first, sniffing carefully. But then he seemed to remember the scent and sipped at the mystery concoction. He still kept his grip with his other hand securely around TaekWoon’s leg, though.

It was another long wait that had the loud ticking of the second hand of the clock raising TaekWoon’s anxiety to a new level with each beat. He had given up on thinking, only focused on HakYeon. His heart jumped at the sound of light knocks before the door opened once again, this time with MinWoo on the other side. His face was a very forced blank slate.

His voice was just as cold cut. “TaekWoon, come with me. Let HakYeon rest here.”

Not encouraging, at all. However, TaekWoon wasn’t met with too forceful opposition; whatever cocktail HakYeon was drinking had doped him a bit. He still whined when TaekWoon carefully stood, but he didn’t try too hard to hold him back.

“I’ll be right back, okay, HakYeon?” TaekWoon lightly ran his hand through HakYeon’s hair. “Just rest for a while.”

HakYeon’s eyes were slowly fluttering, but he could still manage a look of contempt. Without another word, TaekWoon followed MinWoo to the cluttered office, and MinWoo shut the door behind them, gesturing for TaekWoon to sit in the chair in front of his desk. TaekWoon sat, watched as MinWoo sat, and waited.

MinWoo was silent for a long time, gazing at his computer screen. Finally, his jaw flexed, and he sat forward, clearing his throat. “HakYeon… has cancer.”

Silence muffled the room again. TaekWoon could only stare back at the vet. What was he supposed to say? What…?

“I…” His voice wouldn’t come out. “I don’t understand… What…?”

“It’s called a brainstem glioma,” MinWoo added. Robotically. “Evidenced by its name, it’s a cancerous tumor that sprouted on the brain stem.”

“But what does this mean? What do we have to do now? Is this something he…”

His response was robotic again. “Much like many other forms of cancer, the cause is unknown. Obviously, because the location of the tumor is in such a risky spot, surgery will be impossible, even if he was a human. The brain stem contains too many important parts that control too many important functions.”

“Then what about medicine?”

MinWoo shook his head. “Like I said before, the amount of medicine approved for hybrid use is microscopic compared to human medicine. Three-fourths of the stuff I’ve given HakYeon were either things that have finally been medically approved or human medications that were broken down or reduced to incredibly small concentrations. It’s the stabilizing fillers in human medications that hybrid systems can’t deal with. Never mind the fact that cancer drugs are non-existent for hybrids. The only thing I could treat are the symptoms.”

It felt as if cold acid was being poured down TaekWoon’s back and it was rerouting its way up his esophagus. “No surgery… No medicine…” He looked back up to MinWoo, not really sure what his voice sounded like at that point. “Then what? What can I do?”

MinWoo stopped, silent again. Shook his head again. “Nothing. I don’t know what else we can do.”

It would’ve been normal to get angry, even hysterical. Bargain. Plea. Ugly sob. Say it was a joke. Accuse. Demand something be done. Anything.

But TaekWoon felt nothing. The acid was gone. His mind had buzzed to white noise. Even if he tried to come up with words, nothing came to mind. So he stood up.

“I’m… going home.”

He caught a glimpse of MinWoo nodding as he turned to leave that office. He had to go back to HakYeon. How would TaekWoon even begin to explain this to him?

He was saved the trouble, after all. As he opened the door to room four, HakYeon was already sitting upright on the sofa, no longer drowsy, staring dumbstruck at the space in front of him. His head jerked up when TaekWoon entered, and nothing would have prepared TaekWoon to see HakYeon’s face twist as the tears began to fall.

“I’m sorry…”

Those were the only words that made it out of HakYeon’s mouth before he was incomprehensible. Whatever TaekWoon had steeled himself with melted, and he was pulling HakYeon towards him, giving soothing and shushing noises while HakYeon mashed his whole body against TaekWoon’s, face buried in TaekWoon’s shirt.

“Don’t apologize. You’re okay. Don’t cry.” It seemed like that was the new soundtrack that would be replaying from TaekWoon’s mouth. His voice and expression soulless.

“She knew…” HakYeon finally managed. At least, that’s what TaekWoon thought he said. It was hard to discern words when HakYeon was still hiding his face in TaekWoon’s shirt.

“What?”

“The catgirl. She knew I was sick. I… knew it, too, but I didn’t know… I’m sorry.” He was gone again.

“Shhh, you’re okay. Don’t apologize. You’re okay.”

He doesn’t know how long they stood there. He doesn’t remember when they left to go home. He’s pretty sure, from the corner of his eye as they turned down the hallway, MinWoo had swiveled his chair to stare blankly out the window of his office. The waiting room was empty, and the glass door shut behind them. They didn’t speak a word all the way home.

TaekWoon was slipping off his shoes in the entryway when, for whatever dumb reason, gravity existed, and he was falling over with one foot still halfway in a shoe. He banged his knee against the fake tile, cursing loudly at the pain and his stupidity.

“TaekWoon?!”

He looked up, and HakYeon was there, frantic and concerned. It doesn’t make sense how he could have gotten this far without having lost control, but that did it. His throat constricted, and he was yanking HakYeon to him again, crushing him in his arms so that HakYeon wouldn’t have to witness such an unsightly visual.

“ _God_ , HakYeon…” Even his voice was disgusting. “Please don’t leave me…”

HakYeon whined, wrapping his arms around TaekWoon’s waist, and that made it worse. The tears fell even more, and TaekWoon pressed his face into HakYeon’s neck.

How was it even fair? Even though their relationship was awkward in the beginning, this wasn’t how things should have turned out. They’d spent so much time together, opened up to and learned from each other. What was he supposed to do now?

“TaekWoon… TaekWoon.” HakYeon wriggled a bit so he could look into TaekWoon’s eyes. “Right now… Right now, I’m still here, right? We’re still here, like this, so… let’s just keep living like we were.” His voice caught, so he took a shaky breath, voice wavering as he kept going. “We can’t change anything, so we don’t have to change. Let’s keep living like this, okay?”

What an idiot. What an optimistic idiot. TaekWoon reached up to weakly toy at one of the dog ears. He’d need someone to be an optimistic idiot to live through this. He wrapped his arms around HakYeon again.

“… Yeah.”


	7. Chapter 7

It was one of those moments where TaekWoon just popped wide awake, even without his alarm. Outside, the sun was only thinking about coming up, and it cast dull, gray light through the bedroom window. TaekWoon looked over to his side where HakYeon slept; as usual, his hand was held captive by the hybrid’s in his usual pose: TaekWoon’s hand sandwiched between the pillow and HakYeon’s cheek with both of HakYeon’s hands loosely holding on to TaekWoon’s forearm. In that moment, he could forget about the bad things and just focus on the sight of HakYeon dozing peacefully.

But he woke up early for a reason. TaekWoon gently pressed his fingers of the hand being held captive to HakYeon’s cheek, passing his thumb along his hairline. “HakYeon?” he whispered.

A dog ear twitched to face the sound of TaekWoon’s voice, and the tail thumped against the bed a few times. HakYeon gave a lazy sigh before slowly opening his eyes, blinking away the sleep.

“You ready to go?”

The tail thumped even more in earnest, and HakYeon pushed himself up, eyes glittering. “Yeah!”

In the week that followed the breaking news, TaekWoon wondered if going into Bucket List-mode would have been too insensitive, but HakYeon was thrilled with the idea. That was probably just the hybrid trying to be overly positive about the whole thing, but as usual, TaekWoon let HakYeon do whatever he wanted. So, the first thing TaekWoon figured they should do was go on a trip.

“Ah, sorry,” the lady behind the counter replied. “Unfortunately, he… er, the hybrid wouldn’t be able to obtain a passport.”

HakYeon’s head tilted quizzically, and TaekWoon blinked. “Eh? Really? Why?”

“That is… First, there’s no form it would be able to use to apply.”

“Couldn’t I do one for him? As a guardian or something?”

“You would need to provide documentation of proof of legal guardianship. To be honest, I don’t know if that form would apply for hybrids. I’m sorry.”

“Eh?! You don’t have a car?!” JaeHwan had squawked over the phone.

“I live in Seoul, and I work in Seoul,” TaekWoon replied patiently. “Why would I need a car?”

“You’re right. Well, I have a car, so let’s go on a road trip!”

Even though it wasn’t the vacation TaekWoon would have liked HakYeon to experience, it seemed like it was enough. HakYeon bounded out the door to the sidewalk and leapt onto WonShik without warning, like usual. HongBin edged a step away, tolerant of the boisterous dogboys but still passed over a scowl. SangHyuk was snoring in the back seat, but JaeHwan was at full power, 100% at all times.

“Okay, kids!” he hollered. “Jump on the bus! We can’t delay!”

“Don’t you live near work?” TaekWoon asked, clambering to the third-row seats to plop next to SangHyuk. “Why do you have a van?”

“Because reasons,” JaeHwan replied helpfully. “Buckle up, everyone! No texting and driving! Oh, wait. I’m driving. Keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle! Next stop, the beach!”

At first, TaekWoon stayed entertained with the visual of HakYeon and WonShik wriggling around in their seatbelts, trying to stick their faces out the window. He only had half a mind to tell them to stop or be careful because the other half of his mind drew from the snoozing power of SangHyuk right next to him, and he ended up falling asleep, as well.

He didn’t stir until he felt the car slowing to a stop, the sun noticeably higher in the sky. Blinking the sleep out of his eyes, he whacked SangHyuk on the face in the middle of a stretch. In the seat in front of them, WonShik’s snoring self had half-sprawled on top of HakYeon as far as the seatbelt would let him. HakYeon, too, was fast asleep.

“We have arrived at our destination!” JaeHwan suddenly screeched loudly. HongBin, in the seat next to him, jolted in surprise; he was probably only just waking up, too. “Wake up kids! No point in sleeping in the car all day!”

It took a lot of grumbling and bumbling around to finally unload everyone from the van. SangHyuk could barely hold up WonShik, and HakYeon let out a huge yawn as he clung to the end of TaekWoon’s sleeve. At least he seemed to be reviving quickly, though, taking in deep breaths of the fresh air.

They checked in to the small motel easily and dropped by the room to dump whatever belongings they had. By then, HakYeon was properly charged and zipping through everyone, successfully bothering HongBin and waking up WonShik to level two. SangHyuk still looked like he was in need of coffee plus sixteen shots, so he immediately collapsed to the bed and punctuated his defeat with a snore.

“I guess he’s not moving,” JaeHwan commented. “Shall we adventure? Stop by the beach?”

HakYeon’s eyes glittered, and TaekWoon nodded. “Sounds good to me. WonShik, are you coming, too?”

The floppy-eared hybrid blinked, cast a confused look at SangHyuk’s corpse, and looked again at TaekWoon, obviously fighting with a conundrum. Of course, his problem was solved when HakYeon seized him around his waist and yanked him out the door. As they made their way along the sidewalk, TaekWoon typed out a message of where they would be if the kid decided to join them after he woke up.

Three hybrids chasing each other at high speed across the sand was an obnoxious spectacle. At first, HongBin made to settle in the sand next to JaeHwan – who had parked himself alongside TaekWoon at a spot against a low wall far from the surf – but of course he was (literally) dragged out by the dogboys. At one point, TaekWoon finally saw the catboy’s sulk lift into a huge grin; an evil grin, really, because at the time, he was flinging sand in WonShik’s face. TaekWoon continued to watch their antics. He didn’t let any other thought come to mind.

After a while, a message arrived from SangHyuk saying he was coming out to join them. TaekWoon looked over to JaeHwan to share the info, but he stopped short at the sight of JaeHwan sound asleep, a pamphlet of something that looked to be full of work-related jargon still open in his hands. TaekWoon let out a snort and looked out to the beach to search for the whirlwind of hybrids again. Except he didn’t see them. Standing, he glanced around again, only spotting HongBin burying WonShik in the sand.

He began to tromp his way down to the two but halfway along, he finally spotted HakYeon farther ahead. He was sitting in the surf and seemed to just be staring out across the water as the low waves washed over him repeatedly. A bit apprehensive, TaekWoon made his way out to where HakYeon sat.

“Hey,” he called out when he was close enough. HakYeon’s ears perked, and he swiveled his head around, looking up at TaekWoon. His tail slapped at the mud and froth as the water receded. “You okay?”

HakYeon blinked and looked back out across the ocean, silent. Then he nodded. “Yeah. I’m okay. This is nice.”

“Is it? I wish we could’ve gone elsewhere…”

“No, this is fine, really. WonShik and HongBin and everyone else are here.” HakYeon looked up again and gave TaekWoon a reassuring smile. “I’m glad we came here. I’m happy.”

He wished he could feel as optimistic as HakYeon did. Even in the middle of the bright day with the clear, ocean air and jovial groups of people all around them, TaekWoon felt nothing but heaviness in his chest. HakYeon surely must have felt the negativity oozing from TaekWoon’s being because he reached out to hold on to the end of TaekWoon’s sleeve, sunshine smile on at full blast. The smile was infectious; TaekWoon felt the corners of his lips lift, and he raised his hand to HakYeon’s head, wobbling a dog ear.

“TaekWoonie-hyung!”

Both TaekWoon and HakYeon looked up to see SangHyuk making his way across the beach, hand raised. WonShik, vigorously shaking sand out of his hair, followed close behind.

“Hey!” The kid reached the two, stopping just shy of the tide line. “… Why are you two in the water?”

“It just feels nice,” TaekWoon replied. HakYeon’s tail slapped at the water in agreement. “Is JaeHwan still asleep?”

“No, I woke him up before I came over here. He said we should walk around.”

The four reunited with the supervisor and the catboy, and they made their way back up to the beachfront where they wove their way through various small shops and food vendors. HakYeon had noticeably slowed down. No longer was he leading the group by energetically tugging whoever’s arm he could get ahold of. Instead, he lagged in the back, tailed only by HongBin who managed an aloof expression while discreetly watching HakYeon’s back. TaekWoon suggested they go back to the motel for a break, and no one objected.

All three hybrids flopped to the beds in the room, WonShik well on his way to dream land.

“Why don’t we buy some stuff to grill for dinner?” JaeHwan piped up. “There’s space right outside where we can cook. I saw some other people doing it, too.”

SangHyuk’s eyes lit up. “Yeah! Let’s do it!”

Looking over to the bed, HakYeon looked sleepy, but a grin spread on his face as his tail swished atop the sheets. TaekWoon nodded. “I guess these three are just going to nap. We’ll be right back, then.”

They ended up having to walk a bit of a distance to get to the closest market, and there, they had some difficulty trying to figure out what to buy since everyone had opinions and preferences for food, always having to backtrack to include the preferences of the hybrids, too.

Each person had at least a bag in hand as they easily strolled their way back to the motel. But their conversation trailed away when, about a block away from the motel, they spotted HongBin standing outside in the middle of the road, head and tail swishing around anxiously, searching.

“Ah, HongBinnie!” JaeHwan called out, and the catboy swiftly turned, spotting the group. “What's wrong? Did the dogboys lock you out?”

HongBin’s mouth opened for a second but closed again, eyes darting nervously to glance over TaekWoon and SangHyuk, but his mouth opened again, and TaekWoon didn’t even have the chance to marvel at the fact that he actually heard HongBin’s voice.

He only said one thing.

“HakYeon…”

TaekWoon was gone. He only had half a mind to hold on to the grocery bags in his hands as he stumbled down the road towards the motel, JaeHwan and SangHyuk shouting after him. The door had been left ajar, and TaekWoon all but kicked it wide open in his haste.

Briefly startled by the noise, WonShik jumped and whipped his head around, but after realizing the source was TaekWoon, he let out a loud whine and looked back to HakYeon. Both were situated on one of the beds, but HakYeon was completely unaware. He was curled in on himself, laying on his side, his eyes squeezed shut in pain as he took short, shaky gasps. WonShik was holding on to HakYeon’s arms as he helplessly looked on.

The grocery bags were quickly discarded, and TaekWoon was kneeling on the bed on the opposite side of HakYeon, drawing HakYeon’s head into his lap and taking his hands from WonShik. The others arrived at that moment, and WonShik bounded off the bed to latch onto SangHyuk.

“HakYeon?” TaekWoon called quietly. The hybrid shivered and gripped TaekWoon’s hands, letting out a broken whimper. “HakYeon, I’m here. You’re okay. You’re okay.”

“Maybe we overdid it?” SangHyuk murmured from across the room.

“Maybe…” JaeHwan agreed.

No time for regrets. TaekWoon released one of HakYeon’s hands – which instantly latched to one of TaekWoon’s legs – to dig out his phone from his pocket, the vet already on speed dial.

“You can’t bring him in?” MinWoo asked after TaekWoon spilled out the situation over the phone. “Even if he doesn’t like me, this is an emergency.”

“We’re… We’re not in Seoul,” TaekWoon confessed. “We went to Donghae.”

“I see.” There was a brief silence as the vet quickly contemplated. “Okay, you can get this human medicine for him, but absolutely do not give him any more than half of the tablet. If he gets any sicker or starts having bad side effects, you need to come back immediately.”

As MinWoo spelled out the name, TaekWoon echoed it out loud for JaeHwan to transcribe onto his phone, and he and SangHyuk sprinted out of the room to fetch the drug. After a few more instructions, TaekWoon thanked MinWoo profusely, ended the call, and went back to holding HakYeon. WonShik and HongBin perched at the end of the bed, too afraid to come close but too anxious to go very far.

Thankfully, a nearby convenience store had the medicine, and JaeHwan and SangHyuk were back in no time. Giving the medicine was no problem; HakYeon sat up enough to down the small tablet and then withered back down to lay his head across TaekWoon’s lap, still taking labored breaths. The vet had instructed TaekWoon to keep HakYeon’s head elevated to help relieve the pressure, but the hybrid easily took care of that in his attempt to drape his entire being over TaekWoon’s body.

TaekWoon finally let out a sigh. “Hopefully this will do the trick for now.”

“What should we do about dinner, though?” SangHyuk wondered. “Should we just go back to the convenience store and get stuff there?”

“Ah, no,” JaeHwan interjected. “We have all this stuff we already bought. We can still cook!”

TaekWoon vaguely wondered this, matching SangHyuk’s wary expression. The two knew very well the kid had the cooking capability of… a college student. But they weren’t too sure about JaeHwan. The supervisor paid no mind to their stares as he scooped up the bags and strolled outside to the open cooking area, SangHyuk and WonShik following behind and HongBin slowly trailing afterward. TaekWoon could still see the occasional flick of HongBin’s tail from the other side of the door, though.

TaekWoon moved as little as he could without jostling the hybrid in his lap so he could sit back against the headboard. Just when he thought he could relax, though, it became very clear that JaeHwan didn’t know what he was doing. The shouts and odd smells were indicators of that.

He considered for a bit. Glancing down, HakYeon had already calmed down quite a bit, his death grip on TaekWoon’s clothes minutely relaxing.

“WonShik-ah!” TaekWoon called.

He knew the floppy-eared hybrid was probably just lurking around and not contributing, and sure enough, WonShik zipped into the room almost instantly causing HongBin to jump away from his sentry position outside of the door.

“I think HakYeon is mostly okay now. Can you take my place so I can fix whatever JaeHwan is messing up out there?”

He nodded enthusiastically and hopped up on the bed. Prying HakYeon off of himself took minimal effort, and TaekWoon easily passed the doped-up hybrid to WonShik with HakYeon latching onto the new body without question. TaekWoon gave them a deciding once-over before he went outside and pushed JaeHwan away from the food. HongBin was smart to keep his distance.

When the food was done – with SangHyuk and JaeHwan already stuffing their faces – TaekWoon immediately went back to the room to check on the two dogboys. Both were asleep, both breathing deeply and slowly with light snores coming from WonShik. HakYeon didn’t seem to be in pain anymore.

“WonShik-ah.” TaekWoon gently shook WonShik’s shoulder until he stirred, blinking sleepily. “Thanks for watching him. I’ll take over so you can go eat.”

The hybrid took a glance over his friend before he nodded and detached himself, sliding off the bed. TaekWoon reclaimed his spot, passing his hand over HakYeon’s forehead. He wasn’t as warm as he usually was which made TaekWoon somewhat nervous.

“HakYeon?” TaekWoon gently brushed his fingers along HakYeon’s hair line right by his temple. A dog ear twitched at his voice, and HakYeon’s eyes slowly opened, blearily focusing on nothing. “Hey, you okay? Are you hungry?”

HakYeon blinked a few times before he realized TaekWoon was sitting next to him. But he minutely shook his head and settled back down, shifting to lay on TaekWoon’s lap again. JaeHwan appeared in the doorframe soon after to check on them.

“Is he alright?” he asked in a hushed voice.

“Yeah. I guess these drugs make him really sleepy.”

“With only half the pill, too. Are you hungry? Do you want me to bring you a plate?”

TaekWoon shook his head. “No, just save me some for later.”

HakYeon’s slumber continued undisturbed through the night. TaekWoon woke up at some point in the early morning to find HakYeon curled into TaekWoon’s side. At least he was warm again.

* * *

“HakYeon?”

Ear twitch. A light sigh. Eyes glittering.

The days afterwards seemed to go in slow motion. HakYeon took it easy for the most part, and TaekWoon never made him go any further. He was still greeted with HakYeon leaning out the window as he turned the corner coming home from work. Sometimes they still went out on Thursdays to see the crepe man, and sometimes they would meet with the others to sit around at the park across the street.

When TaekWoon asked HakYeon when his birthday was, he was answered with a blink and a tilt of his head. “I… don’t know?” HakYeon replied. “I’ve never paid attention.”

It had been close enough to a year since the two met, so it was only fair for them to celebrate. The six friends crowded into TaekWoon’s apartment, groceries and a cake in hand. It was a little odd that HakYeon and WonShik weren’t roughhousing at first sight like they used to, and TaekWoon pushed the thought from his mind when he saw the two dogboys still managing to pester HongBin by stalking him around the living room.

TaekWoon knew when he had to cut the festivities off, when HakYeon subtly passed him a look and wouldn’t move from where he sat. The other hybrids could obviously pick up the silent cue, lingering close enough to almost sandwich HakYeon, but TaekWoon had to tell JaeHwan and SangHyuk it was time for bed. With expressions of concern, they bid farewell, giving HakYeon one more birthday pat, and urged their respective hybrids to go along.

TaekWoon hadn’t even shut the door behind them before he realized HakYeon had already retreated to the bedroom. He did a quick clean-up job and followed soon after. HakYeon was curled on his side and had mashed his face into TaekWoon’s pillow. When TaekWoon got close enough, HakYeon attached himself, and there was no more moving away for the rest of the night. HakYeon tried to hide his very obvious discomfort, but TaekWoon knew as the pain would rise and subside throughout the night. He kept watch over HakYeon and could only start to drift off close to dawn. Before his eyes fell, he texted JaeHwan to say he wouldn’t be coming into work. And, with HakYeon’s face still solidly buried in his side, HakYeon’s hands lightly gripping his shirt, he went to sleep.

“HakYeon?”

The tail thumped. The ear twitched.

There was absolutely no trying to get HakYeon to see MinWoo, even during his worse episodes, but TaekWoon still wanted the vet to try the most he could, so MinWoo made occasional house calls. During those times, HakYeon would whine and bury himself under the blankets of the bed to hide. At least he wasn’t jumping into the closet. Sometimes MinWoo would deliver medicine for HakYeon to try. Mostly painkillers but others experimental, courtesy of a chemist friend who was trying to develop better hybrid medications, MinWoo said. Obviously, the vet had asked first if HakYeon was willing to be a test subject, and, obviously, TaekWoon was a bit reluctant. Things could have gone south so easily. But the idea that there was a chance they would come up with something that could help HakYeon overrode TaekWoon’s pessimism, so he pitched the idea to HakYeon who looked wary but agreed in the end.

The medications were, in a sense, not very effective. They didn’t make HakYeon feel any worse, but they certainly didn’t seem to make him feel any better, either. There was one painkiller MinWoo had instructed to only be taken for severe pain, and the situation where TaekWoon almost had to pry HakYeon’s fiercely clenched jaw open seemed ideal. The effect was almost instantaneous; HakYeon relaxed and was able to fall asleep easily. TaekWoon breathed a sigh of relief himself, and even though HakYeon seemed like he was sleeping well enough, he was reluctant to leave the hybrid alone. It took a lot of convincing himself to finally get up and do minor things around the apartment, frequently poking his head into the room, just to be sure. MinWoo texted a few times to check in, and TaekWoon shared the good results.

When evening turned to dark night, TaekWoon wondered if this was the sort of thing that he could wake HakYeon up from. Surely waking him to eat wouldn’t be that bad; they hadn’t had anything to eat ever since TaekWoon got home from work. HakYeon was still in a deep sleep, though, when TaekWoon slowly sat on the mattress. He debated for a while before he reached out to pass his hand along HakYeon’s hair.

“HakYeon?”

His voice breaking the stifling quiet of night felt a bit too loud. HakYeon barely budged, his chest still rising and falling with his steady breaths.

2:00 a.m. came and went. < How is he? > MinWoo had texted.

< Still asleep... > TaekWoon replied.

< Still? > TaekWoon didn’t like the surprise from MinWoo’s end. < Let me know. Come to the office first thing in the morning if there’s no change. >

< I will. >

He didn’t want it to come to that, so he willed with all his might for HakYeon to wake up before the morning. TaekWoon was almost at his wit’s end by 5:48 a.m. and was all set and ready to bring HakYeon straight to the clinic when the dogboy finally stirred, taking a deep breath, and blinking his unfocused eyes open and immediately searched around. When HakYeon’s eyes landed on TaekWoon and took in the gaunt state of his human friend, he latched his arms around TaekWoon’s midsection, pressing his face into TaekWoon’s neck. TaekWoon decided against trying that medication again.

“HakYeon?”

Pause. Eyes blinking sleepily.

The days were getting heavier. HakYeon didn’t move around as much and was slower when he did. Even if the window was open when TaekWoon rounded the corner from work, HakYeon would still be sitting by the window by the time TaekWoon made it upstairs. Their small walks diminished from daily to weekly to if HakYeon was even able to get out of bed. The days were spent with the two on the couch, HakYeon leaning on TaekWoon’s shoulder with the throw wrapped around him, not really watching what was on TV. The chilling reality set in when HakYeon, already having downgraded meals because it had become difficult to eat, turned his head away after only one spoonful.

What more could he have done?

TaekWoon tried to resist the circle of questions, the Blame Game, but when he couldn’t sleep and would watch over HakYeon instead, the thoughts crowded his mind regardless of how much he tried to push them away. It was a new agonizing playlist, and he couldn’t figure out how to delete it.

Should he have let HakYeon sleep on the bed sooner? Listened to him sooner? Been more open and warm from the beginning? Should he have taken him out more often? Farther? Introduced him to more sights instead of staying around his neighborhood all the time? Should he have branched out more? Tried to find more hybrids to connect with besides sticking with his own friends?

Was he really happy?

That was a silly question, he knew. Surely HakYeon’s sunshining attitude and glittering expressions every day were an obvious indicator that of course he was happy. Compared to his history, there wouldn’t have been any reason why he wouldn’t be happy, right? Could TaekWoon have done more for him? Couldn’t he have done something – maybe at least one thing – more to where he could see, just one more time, HakYeon’s eyes glittering brightly, hear his warm voice, make him smile like TaekWoon was his whole word?

Maybe he was dreaming or hallucinating. In the dark room, with HakYeon lying next to him and the sun starting to make an appearance somewhere in the sky, he was sure he saw HakYeon staring back at him, his eyes glittering like they used to, a warm smile gracing his face.

Maybe it was a dream because TaekWoon woke up, the morning sun shining lightly through the window, HakYeon lying next to him, TaekWoon’s hand under his cheek, TaekWoon’s forearm captured in HakYeon’s hands. His eyes were closed.

The morning was silent.

“HakYeon?”

 

“… HakYeon?”

 

“HakYeon…”


	8. Chapter 8

< He’s gone. >

< I’ll be right there. >

MinWoo arrived at the apartment in record time. It seemed like it’d be a strange thing, for a customer and a veterinarian to have a friendship of this sort. But as soon as TaekWoon pushed open the door and MinWoo laid eyes on him, he brought the giant youngster into a tight hug, not even leaving the doorway. TaekWoon was glad for the action, but it just brought forth more tears to his eyes, and he hunched over MinWoo as he let himself go. The vet kept a firm hold on TaekWoon as he slowly maneuvered them back into the apartment, shutting the front door.

When TaekWoon managed to calm down a fraction, MinWoo pulled back a bit but kept his hands solidly on TaekWoon’s shaking shoulders. “Can I see him?”

TaekWoon kept his arms tightly bound across his own chest as he led MinWoo to his bedroom. He couldn’t move much closer than the door, though, so MinWoo walked past him and only stopped just a step ahead. TaekWoon hadn’t moved HakYeon from how he found him.

“Oh, kid…” MinWoo sighed. TaekWoon attempted to muffle another sob as MinWoo continued into the room, stopping on TaekWoon’s side of the bed so he could gaze at HakYeon’s serene face. He didn’t take more than a glance for permission, and he slowly sat on the bed and reached out just to move HakYeon’s hair from his brow.

JaeHwan and SangHyuk arrived a bit later but at the same time, oddly enough, but the first thing heard from their arrival was a yelp from WonShik as the door opened, and the hybrid was a blur rushing past MinWoo who had opened the front door. WonShik bounded onto the bed right next to HakYeon and clutched the still hands, whimpering and crying loudly. SangHyuk was close on his heels, but he stopped when he spotted TaekWoon who had moved to sit in the chair at his desk.

“Hyung…” SangHyuk’s voice cracked, so TaekWoon just stood to bring him into a hug. They were never the touchy-feely type of friends, but SangHyuk wrapped his arms around TaekWoon like he wouldn’t let go anytime soon.

JaeHwan and HongBin stepped into the room next, and HongBin – eyes wide and mouth pressed to a flat line – cautiously moved to the bed, ignoring the humans in the room. He sat on HakYeon’s other side but did nothing more, his expression a forced blank. JaeHwan approached TaekWoon and SangHyuk, but the two didn’t even separate and just drew the supervisor into a group hug. The friends didn’t say anything, only sniffling and WonShik’s sobbing filling in the silence.

Even some of the staff from MinWoo’s clinic popped in, probably at MinWoo’s request. TaekWoon was a bit surprised to see the first girl – SoYeon – and the tall guy – whatever his name was – cautiously enter his room. They looked nervous, too, bowing their heads a bit when they saw TaekWoon. But they slowly walked over to the bed, slowly since WonShik and HongBin gave them suspicious glances. TaekWoon called them off, though, and SoYeon gingerly ran her hand through HakYeon’s hair. She came away from it a few minutes later with tears streaming down her face, and the two made sure to offer their condolences to TaekWoon before they left.

“Thank you,” TaekWoon said to MinWoo, later. “For everything. For everything from the start.”

SangHyuk and WonShik were the last to go – aside from MinWoo. SangHyuk had only just managed to finally coax WonShik to let go of HakYeon’s hands and get off the bed, but WonShik had next latched onto TaekWoon, and SangHyuk ended up pulling the sleepy-eyed hybrid away. TaekWoon gave WonShik as much of a smile as he could muster and patted him on the head. WonShik pressed his head into TaekWoon’s hand and muttered a gravelly, “Sorry…” Then he slumped against SangHyuk who waved one last time before they left the apartment.

MinWoo nodded. “I’m glad I could be a part of it.”

Suddenly, TaekWoon let out a weak snort which caused MinWoo to look at him quizzically. “I just realized… Not once have I ever paid you.”

MinWoo’s brows lifted. “You’re really thinking about that right now? Do you _want_ to pay?” TaekWoon just shook his head, and MinWoo grinned. “Your transformation is payment enough for me.”

TaekWoon pondered over that statement. It was true. When he thought back to when he first met HakYeon, his mindset was completely different. His original mentality that hybrids were more animal than human and didn’t, couldn’t, possibly keep up with human privileges transformed to the complete opposite. And he had shut off his emotions, affected by what he had branded as a betrayal and thus hardening to an emotionless lobster. At the time, he hadn’t realized he would end up giving his heart to something—some _one_ else. He hadn’t realized just how much of his heart he would give.

MinWoo brought HakYeon’s remains to TaekWoon the next day, sealed in a wooden box with a minimalist floral design carved into the top, just small enough for TaekWoon to wrap his arms around. Wordless, TaekWoon stood there, holding HakYeon’s ashes to his body. He vaguely remembered MinWoo asking if he needed anything, but he had said no, there was food in the fridge and JaeHwan’s instructions to call or text when he was ready to come back to work. After the door closed, TaekWoon walked the few steps back into his apartment and sank to the living room floor, still clutching HakYeon against him.

He didn’t remember doing a lot of things. Waking up, usually. Falling asleep somewhere but somehow waking up elsewhere. He could have sworn he’d fallen asleep on the sofa, but he was somehow waking up on his bed. Empty, next to him. TaekWoon rolled over and crushed his face into HakYeon’s pillow and cried until he couldn’t breathe.

He found that he felt a bit better when he took HakYeon outside with him. He sat at the park one day when the weather was fair, sat on a bench where he sat before and had watched HakYeon chase after bugs like a child, HakYeon’s box perched beside him. He would open the window by the table in his apartment and listen to the outside world as he slowly sipped water from a mug, HakYeon’s box on the table across from him. When he slept, he dreamed of glittering eyes and could almost feel the thump of a tail against his mattress. He woke with a start, saw emptiness beside him, and felt the world crushing him all over again.

It was an amount of time, neither large nor small, that TaekWoon found he was breathing again. At some point he had just shown up to work, and JaeHwan had been shocked to even see TaekWoon sitting at his desk. But he had said nothing and set a mug of coffee by the computer monitor. SangHyuk was there, too, one day, and they went out to eat ramyun. SangHyuk had asked if TaekWoon wanted another serving. TaekWoon said no, but SangHyuk ordered another one, anyway. (SangHyuk had to finish the second serving, regardless.)

He could breathe in the outside world. But his bed was empty, and TaekWoon kept dreaming of glittering eyes and a sunshine smile. If JaeHwan or SangHyuk tried asking how TaekWoon was or even vaguely mentioning HakYeon, TaekWoon would choke up and refuse to speak. JaeHwan would go back to his desk, and SangHyuk would trail off back to his dorm while TaekWoon would hold in his emotions until he was able to shut the front door behind him so that no one would see him fall apart.

He tried closing off his emotions again.

It was raining, that day. And the weather was starting to change. People zipped by in a hurry to get to their destinations as dry as possible. TaekWoon didn’t know why they never carried umbrellas or rain coats. That’s why they were invented, after all.

He strolled slowly in his rain coat and holding up his umbrella, watching the sidewalk move backwards as he took each step forward. He continued along the path, per usual, but randomly, without thinking, he turned down an alleyway. It deviated from his usual route home, but there was no incentive for arriving home anytime soon.

The sound of a sneeze made him pause.

Looking over, it was an alley where the back doors of the strip of shops along the street led. A few of the back doors had no cover, but one shop had the foresight to put up a small awning above the door. Maybe for when a worker would decide to take a smoke break.

Pressed against the wall underneath the awning was a small figure.

Maybe he wasn’t small, but he had curled himself up enough into a tight, crouching ball that TaekWoon seemed to think he was small. His first thought was that it was a kid, maybe a runaway or something. The sight of pointed ears poking through his copper-colored hair proved otherwise.

He didn’t know if he was ready to jump into this spiral once more. He should have backed away, saved himself from the heartache he would surely have to endure all over again. The hybrid sniffled and tried to bring his legs closer to his body. The awning was just too short, TaekWoon noticed, the rain catching on the hybrid’s shoes.

Glittering eyes. A sunshine smile.

When the rain suddenly stopped falling onto the hybrid’s toes, he blinked in surprise, a bit confused. Then he noticed the person standing above him, his umbrella tilted so that it shielded the rain away from the both of them. The hybrid stared, apprehensive at first, but then his tail came out from where it had been curled around the kid’s bottom, and it gave a small, hopeful swish.

TaekWoon took a deep breath, coughed, and cleared his throat.

“Do you… want to go with me?”

**Author's Note:**

> Cross-posted from my AFF. So many categories to fill out on here...


End file.
